Blonde Roast
by LegionOfMisfits
Summary: College isn't cheap; especially when you're learning how to save the world. Jaune Arc knows he's going to need some extra cash to make it through his second year at Beacon, so when a new coffee shop opens up in Vale, he jumps on the opportunity. Working under a powerful information broker though, he quickly learns there are easier ways to make money than making java.
1. Chapter 1

**Blonde Roast, Part 1**

* * *

Jaune took a deep breath as he stepped off the Beacon grounds, heading to the bus station at the edge of the campus. His team's parting words still echoed in his head:

_Good luck!_ called Pyrrha.

_Have fun,_ said Ren.

_MMPH!_ Nora cried through a mouthful of pancakes.

Jaune sighed. He loved his team; they were his family here at Beacon, just as close to him as his parents or his sisters. They were the best friends he could ever ask for. Pyrrha was the best at everything; she was sweet and fun and amazing. Ren was quiet but he was just a good friend; loyal to a fault and, much as Jaune hated to admit it, _really_ good with the ladies. Nora was… Nora. Still, he wouldn't trade any of them for the world.

It was because they were such good friends and teammates that going behind their backs tore him up inside.

He didn't have a choice though; he needed the money. The first year at Beacon was paid for as part of his transfer. The system was designed to give Hunters-in-training the skills they needed to get started, but after that they were expected to earn money to pay for tuition, and understandably, tuition to the finest battle school on Remnant wasn't something that came cheap.

Jaune had seen the advertisement when he went into town with his team and team RWBY a couple weeks earlier; **Coming Soon: The Three Bears Coffee Shop. Applications for Baristas now being accepted; call 555-2518 for more information!** Though his team had scoffed at the sight of the place (and Yang began murmuring some unsavory things about someone named "Junior"), Jaune saw an opportunity where they saw a joke. That night, he'd waited until his team went down to dinner and made a discreet call to the number from the advertisement. He scheduled an interview in two weeks' time, and now here he was on the way into town.

The bus pulled up and Jaune paid and found a seat, looking decidedly out of place in his nice clothes. The bus's only other passengers were a sleeping transient who seemed to have missed his stop and a green-haired girl in casual attire, her earbuds blocking out the rest of the world. Jaune sat near the front of the bus and looked out the window, watching the school recede and gradually turn to countryside and later to suburbs as the bus approached the city.

The bus ride took an hour or so but he eventually came to his stop, hopping off and thanking the bus driver. Before him stood the building that would become "The Three Bears," on its last day before opening. A banner across the window stated **Grand Opening Sunday from Dusk to Dawn; featuring ****a**** free beverage and live music!** The rest of the building was simple and elegant; a two story building with a solid brick façade and a pair of wide glass windows offering a two-way view of the shop or the street. The doors were adorned with a little brass bell that tingled prettily as he pushed the doors open, peering around.

The interior was spotless, with several tables hosting pairs or quartets of wooden chairs. A long bar stood on one side of the room, opposite a small stage. Jaune stepped into the room and looked around. Not a soul in sight. He walked to the bar and noticed a shiny silver bell which he rung after a brief hesitation. He waited and checked his watch; half past noon, his interview was supposed to start any minute, so where was everybody? Weren't their other people going for the job?

He rang the bell again and this time he heard a good deal of scuffling and grumbling in the back room, followed by a gruff voice calling out "Just a second!" A moment later a tall man in an immaculate white dress shirt and black vest came out, straightening a red tie around his neck. Jaune's eyes widened as he took in the impressive man.

He was easily six-and-a-half feet tall, with a neatly-trimmed black beard and short black hair. His suit, likely freshly ironed by the lack of wrinkles, was as spotless and white as the shelves behind him, which were crowded by dozens of white coffee mugs alongside stacked cups and lids. A few tall jars were filled to the brim with thousands of coffee beans of varying darkness, labelled accordingly. Jaune was so busy taking in the scene that he didn't notice when the tall man leaned across the bar and stared him in the face. "Can I help you?" he asked impatiently and Jaune suppressed a yelp before stuttering out a reply.

"Uh, oh! Hi, uh, yeah, I'm, mhm, here for the job interview?" He smiled nervously and the man raised an eyebrow.

"An interview? You do realize the shop opens _tomorrow,_ right?" Jaune felt sweat beading on his forehead and he rubbed his blonde mop subconsciously.

"Well, _yeah,_ of course, but I wasn't able to get here until today so…" The man sighed heavily, holding up his hands.

"Look kid, I'm sure you think you're hot stuff and that this store would never survive without you, but we've already got plenty of applicants, and there's really no need for… wait a moment…" He smiled devilishly and Jaune gulped nervously. "I'll tell you what," the big man said. "I'll give you a drink or two to mix and, if you can impress me, we'll talk about you getting the job."

Something about the man's tone set Jaune on edge, but he nodded meekly and managed another smile. "Yeah, sure, no problem." The man chuckled darkly and beckoned Jaune around the back of the bar, waiting while the tall boy adjusted to the low-ceilinged space before gesturing to the jars of grounds, cartons of milk and crème and the various sizes and shapes of cups and lids. Jaune also noticed the shotgun in the hollow beneath the bar before the large man took a few steps forward and obscured the object from view. The same sadistic smile was still plastered on his square face as he crossed his arms, obviously pleased with himself. Jaune again found himself wondering what he had gotten himself into.

"Alright," the big man said, "I've got a couple… friends in the business with some very explicit tastes. Few people know how to make their special drink, and fewer still ever get the chance to practice it. It's not an easy mix, and you're going to prove to me that you have what it takes. "

Jaune cocked an eyebrow. "So just make the drink? That sounds easy enough." His eyebrow fell again when the big man chuckled.

"Sure, easy. You mix the drink correctly, we can talk about you getting the job. Otherwise…" he drew a finger across his throat while his head lolled and his eyes gazed up and outward. Jaune gave a tiny yelp before taking a deep breath.

_C'mon Jaune, you can do this. You _have_ to do this._ He nodded to the big man. "Alright; what do I need to make the drink?" The big man looked at him incredulously.

"Now why would I make it that easy? Better figure it out, kid. The twins'll be here in twenty minutes, and they're not the patient sorts." Jaune's mind was racing. _How am I supposed to make the drink if I don't know what goes into it?! And if I don't make the drink…_ the image of the big man sliding the single finger across his throat stuck in Jaune's mind and he resisted the urge to run out of the store then and there. But he had walked all over Vale; nobody else was hiring right now. If he didn't take this job, he'd have no chance of staying at Beacon.

No, he had to do this; even if the consequences were dire.

He stepped toward the coffee ground dispensers. Three choices presented themselves to him as he picked up a scoop and reached for the lid of the dark roast container before hesitating. The light and medium roasts both sat and called out to him, tempting but… which was the correct one? _No,_ he thought, _Follow your gut. Whoever these twins are, dark roast will have to suffice for them_. As he scooped the fine, nearly-black grounds out of the container and into the top of the coffeemaker, he shot a look out the corner of his eye for any hints in the face of his challenger, but the man's face was a mask a s his eyes watched Jaune's actions.

Doling out the correct amount of grounds into the top of the coffeemaker, he set the pot underneath and hit the button as the machine hummed and began to warm up. Turning, he walked to the rack of mugs and inspected the rack of pristine white cups. All of them were perfectly arranged, with blank faces turned outward and handles at a 45-degree angle to the cup's front left… all except one with the handle turned the other direction.

_Only one?_ he thought before shrugging and taking it off the rack. He set it aside and inspected the scene for a moment. The water was still boiling in the coffeemaker and the sole cup sat empty and waiting. Honestly, Jaune didn't understand why the twins would take only one cup between the two of them, but he didn't want to ask and he was sure that he wouldn't get the reasoning anyway.

The cup had stood out though, and Jaune's gut was telling him that he was right. A groan and a series of bubbling gurgles accompanied the sight of a stream of dark liquid pouring from the coffeemaker into the pot below. Satisfied, he switched on the heater and withdrew the pot of the steaming black stimulant.

He poured a decent amount into the cup and paused for a moment, considering. There was a good amount of space between the top of the mug and the liquid within, but he set the pot back on the heater and instead reached for the creamer. Adding just a splash, he next drew up the expresso pump and added exactly three-and-a-half pumps to the steaming beverage. He skipped foam and stepped back to admire the creation before looking around the space one final time. He didn't know what he was looking for, but something told him that the drink was not yet complete.

His eyes alighted on several jars of wafers, variously flavored and in various shapes. One stood out to him though and he leaned in, withdrawing the jar to get a closer look.

Several long, thin cookies in the shapes of feathers sat inside the box and he knew in that moment he had found the missing piece. He unscrewed the lid of the jar and withdrew two of the wafers, closing the jar again and returning it to its place before taking the wafers and carefully, precariously, perching them over the lid of the mug, only barely submerged in the coffee.

He stood back and exhaled deeply before looking expectantly to the big man who was just as unreadable as before. Hoping that he had made the right choice, he took the mug and set it on a hot plate to wait.

A few minutes later the bell over the shop door chimed and Jaune snapped out of his daydream to spy a pair of ladies entering the shop. They strode past the rows of stacked tables and chairs toward the bar where they greeted the big man pleasantly before turning their aloof gazes to Jaune and his creation.

They were indeed twins, identical ones too. Both wore eight-inch heels and thigh-length, skintight dresses. One's neck was ringed by plumage and the other wore a pair of tall feathers in her hair, which Jaune took as a good omen. Indeed, the two were nearly identical in every way, all except for the colors they wore. While one dressed in a red so sanguine it seemed to be flowing and the other in white as cold as Weiss Schnee's heart.

"Girls, this… young man was insistent I give him a chance to work here, so I gave him a special task, just because I was thinking of you. I told him to make your favorite drink." One of the girl's spoke and Jaune resisted the urge to cringe; her voice was high and mocking, like one of the popular girls at Jaune's old school; the ones who would never even dream of talking to him.

"Junior," said the one dressed in red, "You said that the last one would be able to make our drink and he looked a lot more impressive than _this one_." Jaune cleared his throat to remind them that he could hear them but nobody seemed to notice, or care for that matter.

The one in white was speaking now. "You _know_ what happened to the last guy," but Junior held up his hands.

"I know, I know, but instead of giving me a history lesson, why don't you just try the drink?" The twins rolled their eyes and scoffed in derisive unison before striding to the counter and taking a long moment to cock their heads to the sides and inspect Jaune. He subconsciously loosened his collar and smiled halfheartedly, gesturing with mock ceremony to the still-steaming mug and oddly-shaped wafers.

The girls turned their eyes to the drink and one raised an eyebrow at the other before they reached forward in unison and plucked up the two wafers, raising them and breaking them in half simultaneously. Dropping the parts into the drink, the one in white picked up the drink and took a long sip before passing it to her sister, who did the same. The one in red set the drink down on the counter and the two considered for a moment, popping out their hips and resting their chins on their hands while they gazed off into space. Jaune couldn't help but notice that Junior looked almost as concerned about the outcome as Jaune himself did, his eyes darting back and forth between the two sisters and the blonde boy behind the counter.

Finally, after what seemed like minutes of agonizing silence, both girls walked around the counter and into the back room where Junior had emerged from when Jaune first arrived. The door closed with a slam and Junior let out a heavy breath, putting his head on the counter and running a hand through his short black hair. Jaune looked at him incredulously.

"Well? Did I do a good job?" Junior looked at him like he was stupid and chuckled.

"Kid, if you hadn't done a good job, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now." Something inside Jaune snapped and he let out a heavy sigh of relief, falling backwards and nearly smacking his head on the counter as he sat heavily on the floor behind the bar. Junior strode around the bar and Jaune felt a sudden surge of courage, standing. He considered himself fairly tall, but he still barely came up to Junior's shoulders.

"So… you were saying something about that job?"

* * *

Opening day came with much fanfare; a massive opening ceremony was held and folks from all over Vale came by to check out the hottest (heh) new coffee shop in the Kingdom. The sign over the door said it all:

**The Three Bears Coffee Shop: "It's Just Right!"**

Naturally, folks flocked to the place, due in no small part to the promotion Junior was offering for customers on opening day: Buy one drink, get another of equal or lesser value free! People liked free stuff, especially when the "stuff" in question was their morning cup of coffee.

Of course, if Junior's promotion wasn't enough, there was always the word spreading around the kingdom like wildfire that the guy making the coffee at this place was a master at what he did.

When folks came into the shop, they'd gather around the bar and chat to one another while they waited for their often extravagant and sometimes just plain weird drinks. All of these drinks were, of course, delivered perfectly made and right on time to them by the tall, silent blond behind the counter. Indeed, the barista was quiet as the grave, never needing to ask to hear an order a second time or trying to idly chat with the lady customers: he just made the drinks and _damn_, did he make them well.

Junior couldn't understand it; maybe the kid had one of those eidetic memories or something; maybe he was conning Junior and he just didn't know it; Hell, maybe he read minds. Junior didn't know, and he didn't care. The kid was bringing in so much business he could afford to sell the place, buy it back and sell it again!

Jaune's cut of the profits was significant; not grand by any measure, but stable. Hopefully, if he contributed enough of his time, he'd actually be able to pull off this crazy gamble of his!

All in all, his investment was looking fruitful. He didn't understand how he was so good at the job either, he just allowed his instinct to guide his hands as they brewed, mixed, poured and served, and nobody ever went away disappointed.

To be sure, he was glad he'd taken the job. It gave him something to do outside of classes, practice and homework. Junior was willing to be flexible with his schedule (though Jaune had refrained from telling his new employer exactly _where_ he attended school), and Jaune finally had something he was really, naturally good at. He never needed to stay up late at night studying or go up on the roof and spar with Pyrrha for hours in order to brew a cappuccino. This was something that was his, and he was glad for it.

He looked up from taking an order and paused a moment as his eyes locked with those of someone on the far side of the café. She was sitting with her team, but she looked disengaged as the rest of them chatted and joked. She had checked over her shoulder for whatever reason and Jaune recognized her immediately, though he didn't recall taking or serving her order.

She pushed her glasses down on her face and a pair of intelligent brown eyes regarded him coolly before she raised an eyebrow and gave a small, almost imperceptible movement of the head. Jaune snapped back into reality just in time to realize that his customer was trying to get his attention. He finished taking down the order and set to putting together the brew. Out the corner of his eye though, he shot a final glance at her. She was facing forward again and seemed to be finally getting into the conversation with her team, but nonetheless, Jaune gave an inward smile.

Somehow, he figured, he'd be seeing more of her in the near future.

* * *

**AN - **So this idea came as a prompt from Reddit user /u/destinytail0, and is partially inspired by the manga "Bartender" written by Araki Joh. I do not own the rights to the manga, nor to RWBY. However, I would like to thank destinytail for the idea; I had a lot of fun writing this and I'm hoping that I can go somewhere cool with it. Suggestions are always welcome, thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**Blonde Roast, Part 2**

* * *

Coco's morning usually started in a fairly standard manner; a cup of coffee from the school café and then off to classes. While this still worked just fine for her weekday classes, on the weekends she found herself wanting something a little more. So, after convincing Fox, Velvet and Yatsuhashi to get out of bed (never a dull moment there), the team would make the journey into Vale.

The coffee shop had taken on an almost reverent quality in Coco's mind and her team knew it; she could go on for days about every problem with every cup of java she drank, but not one of them had ever heard her utter a word of complaint when they went to "The Three Bears." Something kept her coming back and something made her ignore the flaws in the coffee, which she undoubtedly had found no matter how minute they might be.

And every time the team visited, they would spend their time racking their brains trying to figure out what it was. It didn't take long, to be honest.

Jaune never uttered a word to them when he was working, though Velvet did find a message scribbled on her napkin one day, reading simply "_Don't tell Pyrrha"_ in surprisingly effeminate script. True to the mysterious napkin's commands, no member of team CFVY ever mentioned Jaune's career choice to any of the others at Beacon.

So it came to be on another Saturday morning that the team found themselves seated at their regular table next to the window, three chatting idly over their drinks while one participated in conversation only sparsely and shot occasional glances to the bar at the far end of the room. Velvet took a sip of her drink and cleared her throat. When that failed to draw Coco's attention she yawned loudly, making a great show of spreading her arms and bringing them down slowly in Coco's line-of-sight. Unsuccessful again, she looked to her teammates for support but Yatsuhashi merely shrugged. She sighed before she noticed Fox standing and walking slowly to the bar.

The shop was going through a lull between rushes and Fox walked straight to the bar, stopping and gazing at Jaune intently. Back at the table, Coco was snapped back into reality by the sight of her partner at the bar. She looked around as if she was confused about where she was before catching Velvet's eye. The Faunus girl cocked an eyebrow and Coco hastily busied herself draining half of her drink, avoiding Velvet's gaze and watching the interplay at the bar.

Jaune finally seemed to notice Fox and raised an eyebrow inquisitively, but didn't speak. Fox looked at the menu as though lost in thought before casually asking, "So why don't you want your team to know you're working here?"

Jaune sputtered for a moment and looked around the shop. Noticing that no others were paying attention to their conversation except for the rest of team CFVY, he pulled up a pen and napkin and began writing. When he was done he passed the impromptu message to Fox, who read over the words several times.

"_Shop owner is mob boss; doesn't know I go to Beacon. Who have you told?"_

Fox shrugged. "Nobody," he said, "But I do have another question; why don't you ever speak?"

Again, Jaune took the napkin, flipped it and wrote out another message. _"You listen better when you don't talk."_ Fox shrugged. Couldn't really argue with that, he supposed. Still, it was a little strange to be sitting at the counter, swapping messages with the blonde barista like a couple of schoolchildren. He cocked an eyebrow as he phrased his third question.

"Why do you feel the need to be listening?" and Jaune looked prepared as he took another napkin and prepared to write, but a noise from behind him caused him to start and he hastily crammed the two napkins away, discarding the pen and shooing Fox away.

"I'll explain everything later," he whispered and Fox stood for a moment, dumbfounded that the younger man had actually spoken. When Jaune turned and started listening intently to a giant of a man who had emerged from the backroom he turned and walked back to his table. Coco shot him an irritated look and Fox shrugged it off.

"I just had a few questions," he said, answering her question before she asked it. "Like why he never talks to anyone, even us." Velvet leaned in, her ears twitching.

"So what did he say?" she asked and Fox shrugged again.

"He said that he 'listens better when he doesn't talk.' I was going to ask him what he's listening for, but tall, dark and menacing back there interrupted." He jerked a finger at the big man and the group all looked for a moment before returning their gazes to Fox. "He said he'd explain later, but I don't know what that means."

Coco checked her watch. "In any case," she said with just a touch of disappointment in her voice, "We need to get going. Goodwitch is holding a training session for the new students and I want to see what they can do." The team finished their drinks, left the mugs and a few lien lying on the table and departed. Coco left last, taking a long moment to shoot one last glance over her shoulder at Jaune, still absorbed in his conversation, before following the rest of her team.

When Junior finally went back to the back room Jaune let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. When his boss had emerged, he'd been sure that the big mobster would see him talking to Fox and figure things out. He couldn't have Junior knowing that he was associated with Beacon; he couldn't risk it. He was making more money in this job than he'd made in most of his life (which wasn't saying much; it was his first job) and every cent of it was going toward his tuition for his second year.

Fox's questions had brought about a fresh wave of emotions inside him; guilt at not telling anyone about this, nervousness about his… side activities.

Since he started working at "The Three Bears," he'd become quite curious about what Junior did. He knew that the big man was associated with some kind of criminal element, and that he had plenty of money and power. Jaune's revelation came when he discovered exactly what it was that Junior did for the kingdom's crime syndicates. It gave the old adage "knowledge is power" so much more meaning.

He sold information, which at first had seemed like a pretty stupid occupation to Jaune. Who wanted to buy what they could just figure out for themselves? The more he thought about and researched it though, the more he came to realize that few jobs offered as much lien as information brokering. People were always looking for new ways to come out on top of others, be it through physical, mental or, in this case, informational superiority. Their reasons for wanting to come out on top were myriad and irrelevant; what mattered was that people were willing to pay arms and legs for this information. Jaune had found a bunch of news reports, statistics and articles detailing just how big the business was becoming.

And more interestingly to a struggling collegiate, how big the _money_ was becoming.

He was listening instead of talking because when people were sitting in pairs or trios around their morning cups of coffee, they were surprisingly loose-lipped. For whatever reason, caffeine brought out secrets. They were secrets told quietly, privately, but when you shut your mouth and _listened,_ it didn't matter how quiet they thought they were being. Jaune heard everything in this place, and he was waiting. Biding his time until the day when all that information was more than clutter in the back of his mind.

A day would come, he hoped, when he could see just how much money such information could produce.

_That_ was what he had wanted to tell Fox, but what he was becoming more and more certain he couldn't tell Fox, let alone others who were closer to him. On the one hand, he hated lying to people; nothing in his life had torn him up inside as much as the period of time before he had finally revealed to Pyrrha that his transcripts to Beacon were forged. On the other hand though if they knew the truth, that he was yet again breaking the law to secure his future at Beacon, what would they think of him?

Information brokering was illegal under Vale law and custom, but what choice did he have? Even with the money he was making under Junior as a barista, he'd be hundreds of lien short when the time came to pay up to the school. And he would be damned if he had to go to anyone for financial aid; his parents had little enough to spare and there was no way he could go to his team or team RWBY without admitting what he was really up to.

He was thoroughly stuck between an immoral rock and an illegal hard place, and it didn't seem that things would be getting any easier in the near future.

Sighing, he set about using a rag to absentmindedly clean a few already spotless mugs. His thoughts drifted on to other things: a history assignment he hadn't finished, a few absentminded doodles of Blake and Yang he'd rather never fell into the wrong hands and… and a pair of brown eyes gazing at him from over the rims of a pair of designer glasses.

His mind lingered for a moment there; Coco had been coming in more and more since the place opened. Was it the coffee or something else? He blushed involuntarily to himself at the thought and shook his head. No, it was probably just the coffee. Why would it be anyone else— Er, any_thing_ else. Besides, he didn't have time to get into the kind of trouble something like that could bring on… His mind disliked his attempts to get off the subject though, and he subconsciously let his mind wander even further into dangerous waters. His brain conjured images of his friends; Blake and Yang, Ren and Nora… not just partners on the battlefield, but off it as well. Then he thought of Pyrrha…

The bell over the door chimed and he breathed a sigh of relief as he settled himself back into the zone that he entered into whenever work demanded it. He couldn't let himself get burdened down with personal stuff like that; especially when he had so many more pressing issues to contend with. Better to focus on the job at hand.

After all, things were so much simpler when all he had to worry about was burning the grounds.

* * *

He closed the door as easily as he could, allowing only a brief moment where the light streamed in from the hallway and lit the inside of his room. He saw the familiar picture then; the same picture he saw every time he snuck in like this. Ren tucked firmly in place at his end of the room, the covers seamless as they lay over his sleeping form. Beside him, Nora snored softly; the complete opposite of her partner. The sheets lay in bundles all around her, mussed up like a dog had jumped into them, run around in circles and then jumped out again, taking half the sheets with it. Her pillow was on the floor next to the door and Jaune picked it up easily, placing it at the foot of her bed and starting slightly when she grunted in her sleep, almost as if she was subconsciously thanking him.

Pyrrha was asleep as well, back turned to him as he sat by his own bed. Somehow, his mind wouldn't allow him to recognize that as coincidence as he stripped out of his casul clothes and donned his pajamas. The blue fabric was soft and comforting as he lay down softly on his bunk, trying not to cause any creaking in the bed's aging springs. He stared up at the ceiling for a long time, knowing he needed to get some sleep but unable to fall into unconsciousness.

He closed his eyes one last time and let all his thoughts coalesce before he addressed every hope and fear crowding his mind at once.

_Cross the bridge when you come to it, Jaune, _he told himself.

Somehow, it seemed to work. Sleep overtook him and he drifted off into dreamless rest, the room dark and quiet.

It took Pyrrha considerably longer to go back to sleep.

* * *

AN -Happy holidays! Sorry this one is a little shorter than the last; this will probably end up being the standard length though. It's much more manageable when you're doing things like waiting for your drunken siblings to sober up so you can make it to midnight mass. In any case…

The feedback I got for the last chapter was huge; you guys are awesome and I'm honestly a little intimidated by the amount of faith and support you all have for me. I'm going to do my best to make sure your trust isn't misplaced as I get into the nitty-gritty of the story stuff with this fic. Speaking of the story, I've set myself a plan for "Blonde Roast." I'll be releasing as it's convenient but expect 1-2 chapters per week, as my schedule allows. I'll bang out as many as I can before school starts up again because things will likely slow down again after that. The story itself will probably take maybe 5-6 chapters more; as much as I'm enjoying this one I have plans for some big things I want to do in future projects, which I want to give you guys a taste of as well.

As Jaune has been teaching us though, sometimes it's best to handle these things as they come up. So, until next time…

Favs, follows, reviews and feedback always appreciated! Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Blonde Roast, Pt. 3**

* * *

"And then, we broke his legs!" Nora cried, standing precariously on the bench where she sat and thrusting her arms into the air in a gesture of undeniable jubilation and excitement at the conclusion of her story. Jaune looked up only briefly from his breakfast before returning his gaze to the plate of waffles with a barely audible sigh. Ren's eyes narrowed at this before his gaze flitted to Pyrrha, who looked how Jaune must have felt. The normally chipper (or at least pleasant) Mistrali girl hadn't been herself for days now; the dark circles under her eyes and the vacant look in the deep emerald pools themselves attested to her fatigue.

Nora looked irked at the lack of a response to her bombastic story and pouted at the group before Jaune finally spoke up. "Yeah, great story Nora. This dream, heh, never gets old. Especially after the fifth time you tell us about it." With the ginger girl at least somewhat placated, he checked his watch and stood, taking his plate and beginning to head off in the direction of the kitchen before a word from Ren stopped him.

"Jaune, are you certain you're alright? You haven't been yourself recently…" Jaune chuckled nervously and looked sheepishly at his teammate, past him to a semi-comatose Pyrrha and then to Nora, who seemed so absorbed in her pancakes that a bomb could go off and she wouldn't notice.

And to be honest, if a bomb did go off in the mess hall it was most likely Nora's doing anyway.

"Well, uh, yeah, sure, of course I'm ok Ren; why wouldn't I be alright? I mean, what reason would I have to be not alright? Heh…" His eyes darted back and forth again before he cleared his throat awkwardly and meandered off in the direction of the kitchen, nearly tripping several times along the way as he continuously shot backwards glances at his team. Ren's eyes narrowed again and he turned to Pyrrha, whose steady, soft breathing told him she was fast asleep.

He looked to Nora, silently asking what to do next and sighed when he saw that she had arrayed several small pancakes in makeshift battlelines and was personally providing sound effects as the warring sides clashed with syrup bombs from afar and lines of interlocked forks up close. He rubbed his own eyes tiredly.

Things were going on all around him, but it seemed as though he'd have no aid in finding answers.

* * *

Jaune made his way back to his dorm, grabbed the duffel bag containing his work clothes and made his way down to the bus stop at the edge of campus, just as he had on his first day a few weeks earlier. His mind was racing the whole time as he recounted his encounter with Ren.

_How much has he figured out? Does he know that I'm working at "The Three Bears?" Has he told anyone else? Oh God… has he told Pyrrha?!_ He shook his head as the bus made its way into the city and checked his watch. 8:41. His shift didn't start until nine; plenty of time to change and get ready.

The bus pulled up in front of the coffee shop at exactly ten minutes until the hour, so Jaune hastily thanked the driver and hurried inside the shop. A few patrons lounged about, but most of the Sunday rush hadn't arrived yet. Jaune nodded to the barista working the counter at the time and made his way into the bathroom and changed out of his casual clothes and into his work outfit.

He opened the door and nearly screamed as he came face to the most creepily adorable being on the planet.

The woman was a few years older than Jaune, but by her youthful features and petite size she could have been a child. Her outfit was comprised of a white jacket with a pink interior, brown pants, and gray boots with very high heels; which did little to aid in her vertical challenge. Under her jacket she wore a black corset, curved in the middle of the bottom, exposing her sides. She also wore a multitude of necklaces, which hung haphazardly around her neck. Her hair hung down the middle of her back and was colored like her outfit and split down the middle; chocolate brown on one side, light pink on the other.

By far her strangest feature though were her eyes, which were opposing colors. While both matched her hair, the pink eye sat beneath the brown side of her hair and vice versa for the brown eye. Both eyes looked up at him (and boy, did she look _up_ at him) from a face wearing an amused smile; like the look one gets when a dog does an especially cute trick.

He apologized quietly and the small girl made no response except to make her way past Jaune, closing the bathroom door behind her. Jaune scratched the back of his head before shrugging. He saw plenty of strange folks come and go in the shop, and as he made his way to the bar he couldn't help but notice the door to the back room where Junior conducted his business was ajar.

Peeking inside for only a moment, he saw an exquisite black bowler hat and a white suit jacket hanging on the coatrack, before his feet carried him to his normal spot behind the counter. He nodded goodbye to the other barista as she made her way out of the shop and got to work almost immediately, as the Sunday morning rush began promptly at nine.

He took, prepared and served orders with his usual efficiency, occasionally scanning the familiar part of the room for any sign of team CFVY. The team of upperclassmen was nowhere to be seen and Jaune felt a small twang of disappointment inside himself, despite his reluctance to feel such. A noise behind him caught his eye and he turned to see Junior and a tall, red haired man in an unusual amount of makeup (for a man) stepping out of the back room. The strange man was speaking as he shrugged the white coat Jaune had seen onto his shoulders and donned the black bowler as well, sweeping his hair to one side and gently settling the headwear into place.

"This information had better be good, Xiong. You still owe me for those mooks you lent me on your assurance that 'they could handle any job I could throw at them.' Look how long that lasted," he said with a sneer. Junior grimaced.

"Well maybe if I had known you were going to have them fighting Huntsmen, I would have reconsidered!" he replied and the shorter man chuckled maliciously.

"And turned down good lien? Come now Junior, you and I both know better than that." He smirked and turned to the crowded coffee shop, obviously searching for something. Spotting it, he called out across the space, unheeding of the other people occupying it. "Neo! We're leaving." Jaune followed his eyes and spotted the short girl he had seen earlier admiring a painting on the wall. She turned at the sound of the man's voice and strode across the space in surprisingly short time for someone with such short legs. She stopped in front of the man and looked up at him with her usual creepy cheer. The sight of the girl standing next to Junior's massive bulk would have made Jaune laugh if he wasn't so terrified of the potential consequences.

The girl looked up at her partner mutely and he took on an exasperated look, despite her not saying anything.

"Why are you being like this? We have to get going, you know that." The girl pouted in silence, but Jaune saw her eyes flick towards him. The orange-haired man looked at her again and she gave an expression Jaune knew only too well from growing up with seven sisters. It was the "Give me what I want or I'll murder you in your sleep _please,_" look, and this man was obviously similar to Jaune's parents in at least one way, seeing as how he cracked like an egg under that gaze.

"Oh for— Fine. But after this, we're leaving, got it?" The girl nodded and skipped along happily as the man strode to the counter where Jaune stood, twirling his ornate cane in a way that was somehow both corny and menacing. Jaune gulped despite himself and hoped the overly cheerful girl and the intimidating man in the tailored suit didn't notice. He smiled sheepishly as the man reigned in and leaned on his cane, the petite girl practically bouncing up and down behind him. Jaune's mind subconsciously went to the twenty-gauge under the bar as he contemplated his potential escape routes. The look in the man's eyes told Jaune he was about to do something thoroughly unpleasant; the small girl's enthusiasm was matched only by the manic gleam in her eyes and out of his periphery, Jaune saw Junior dabbing his heavy brow with a handkerchief. He gave his best smile as the well-dressed man looked him up and down with a mixture of disinterest and distaste. Finally, realizing that Jaune would not initiate, the man spoke.

"Do you, good God, I can't believe I'm doing this… Do you serve _ice cream?_"

Jaune stood for a moment, trying to comprehend what he had just been asked. After a few seconds, he realized his mouth was hanging open and quickly opened and closed it several times, looking for all the world like a scraggly blonde goldfish. Finally, he scratched the back of his head and slowly shook it "no," his most apologetic look on his face. The man turned to the girl who looked both saddened and maddened by the answer.

"Well? You happy now?" the man asked. There was a short pause before he cried out again and Jaune realized after a moment that he was still talking to her. "I don't care if you think you've earned it; we're on a timetable and we can't waste any more time! Now, are you coming or not?" The girl stamped her foot in protest and the man would have no doubt continued his tirade had Jaune not chosen that moment to break one of his cardinal rules.

"Um, excuse me," he said and all eyes involved swiveled to him. Junior seemed most amazed of all at seeing his star barista use his voice for a change. As the group waited expectantly he reached out and pointed in the direction of another shop down the street. "Julio's, just at the end of the block, uh, they serve ice cream."

That was all they needed to hear, as the girl looked pointedly at the man and he sighed exasperatedly. "I swear to God, Neo. One of these days, we're going to have a serious chat about this little obsession of yours." He shot Jaune a glance as he turned to leave. "Thanks a lot," he muttered grudgingly as he walked out of the coffeeshop, heels clicking as he made his way out. Neo for her part ran up, hopped onto the counter, leaned in and before Jaune could react gave him a minute peck on the cheek. Jaune's face burned and Junior's mouth hung agape as the miniscule girl chased her friend out, turning at the door and winking her pink eye at Jaune before disappearing down the street towards Julio's.

Jaune's hand reached up toward the spot where the petite girl had kissed him and Junior shook his head incredulously as he withdrew a whiskey flask from inside his vest and took a hearty swig. He muttered something about the kids getting weirder and disappeared once more into the back room. Jaune, for his part shook his head for a moment as he looked to the door, still wondering if that had all just happened.

He looked down for a moment and picked up a polished mug, preparing to settle back into his pastime routine when the bell over the door jingled. He looked up, expecting a customer come for a late-morning cup of java. A part of him even sort of expected Neo and her well-dressed friend to come back; but no, what he saw was much, much worse.

Standing in the coffeeshop's doorway, silhouetted by the morning light outside, was Lie Ren.

* * *

**AN** – Boom! Cliffhanger! Plus, a little gelato action for all you folks, hope you enjoyed. I managed to get this one out a lot quicker than expected, but that's what happens when Christmas for your family is basically just sleeping in and chilling out all day with two fingers of Christian Brothers and the RWBY V.2 soundtrack. Oh wait, that's every day on holiday break for me ;)

Story is picking up now; the whole story behind Roman and Neo's visit to Junior will come into play later on and will factor into the grand scheme regarding Jaune's financial struggle. More on that to come in the next issue.

Until then, thank you guys again for the massive and hugely appreciated support and feedback from this story: 50 favorites in four days? If that isn't a testament to an awesome fanbase, I don't know what is. As always, follows, favs and feedback is appreciated; thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Blonde Roast, Pt. 4**

* * *

Jaune's mind was racing. Later, he'd tell people his first reaction was _"Oh no! My secret is out! Whatever shall I do now?"_ In reality, it was something more along the lines of _"Ohshitohshitohshitohshitohshit."_

He looked out the corner of his eye for any possible escape route while simultaneously turning his back to the door and the accusatory figure of his teammate. He felt sweat beading on his forehead and he subconsciously wiped it with a rag. He could head into the back room, but Junior would send him right back out and tell him to keep working. If he kept his head down, he might be able to make it to the door, but Ren would probably see him if he took that route. Maybe the bathroom; he could just wait until Ren got tired and left. But what if Ren _didn't_ leave, and just waited until Jaune had to come out? Or Junior came and… No, no that was an even worse idea than going out the front.

He heard the bell on the bar behind him ding and cursed himself for waiting too long. He turned slowly, the moment he had dreaded finally come. His mind was abuzz with fears; what if Ren goes to the headmaster? What if Junior finds out I go to Beacon? What if Ren tells the rest of the team? Facing one member of team JNPR was bad enough; he wasn't sure he would be able to handle Nora and Pyrrha as well.

His gaze rose arduously, royal blue meeting magenta with agonizing slowness. Ren's eyes were full of something Jaune couldn't identify. Disappointment? Sadness? Guilt? When Ren finally broke the silence, his voice was totally neutral – placid as still water but backed by the quiet confidence that possessed the dark-haired young man's entire being.

"So this is where you've been going to every weekend," he said calmly. It was not an accusation; merely a statement of fact. Jaune suddenly felt a great deal warmer and he held up a finger to stop Ren, silently promising, in a way that Ren somehow understood, to explain everything. Jaune slipped from behind the bar and walked to the back room. Knocking twice on the doorframe he stuck his head in. Luckily, Ren's visit coincided with Jaune's midday break and when he tapped his watch face his boss got the message.

"Ten minutes," Junior told him gruffly before returning to his business. Jaune walked out to the counter and was relieved to notice that Ren had taken the liberty of placing the "Out to Lunch, Be Back in 10!" sign on the bar surface, though Jaune did wonder how his teammate had known where to get it. He walked past the bar and straight out the front door, only checking back after he was outside to make sure Ren was still following.

Outside of the shop, Jaune had no restrictions on his speaking or manner thereof. To that end, what came next was little more than babble.

"Ren, look man, I'm sorry, I know I lied to you and to Nora and Pyrrha – oh God Pyrrha; you haven't told them have you? Or Ruby? Or Yang? Or Ozpin? Does anyone know? How did you know? Oh God why does this have to happen every time. First the papers, now this, I swear Ren I'm so close to flunking out of Beacon I can—"

"Jaune."

His rant interrupted by the single utterance of his name, Jaune stopped dead and looked at Ren. The young man was still as calm and collected as ever, but the emotion in his eyes had changed. Jaune still couldn't identify it, but he saw the difference. Suddenly, the realization of everything he had done and said came to him and he hung his head in shame. He turned away from his teammate.

"I… I'm sorry, Ren. I should have told you – I should have told all of you but… I knew that if you guys knew I needed the extra money you'd force me to let you pay for it." He started walking and a moment later realized Ren was beside him, matching Jaune stride-for-stride. The other man was silent, so Jaune continued. "I got into Beacon my first year because… well, you know why. The tuition for the first year just came as part of the package there but now… I'm still not a good enough fighter to start doing real work; not on my own. And I spent the break with my family, so I couldn't work then either. This was my last option."

Ren _mmed_ at Jaune's explanation before stopping and turning. Jaune stopped too and looked his teammate in the eye for a long moment before Ren spoke.

"If you were in such dire need of financial aid, why were you so reluctant to ask one of us for help? If you had another person, especially Pyrrha, you could have easily made all the money you needed by working as a Huntsman."

"That's just it," Jaune said. "If I had _another person._ As in, I needed help. Yeah; bet I make a real impressive Huntsman – going out and fighting evil… with Pyrrha following me everywhere I go to make sure I don't mess anything up. People don't want to hire Huntsmen who need babysitters, Ren." Jaune walked to the wall at the edge of the sidewalk and slumped heavily to the ground with his back against it. He knew the wall would wear the back of his uniform but at this particular moment he didn't care. He closed his eyes and for once, he wished he _was_ as invisible as he had always seemed to be. At least when people didn't know you existed you didn't have anyone to worry about disappointing.

"Jaune," Ren said again, voice finally hinting at emotion. Jaune was surprised to find that it wasn't condescension or anger, but concern. He opened his eyes and looked up. "You know what this has been doing, don't you? Your constant running off to work in the evenings? It's not a matter of financial security alone, anymore. Pyrrha has been worrying herself half to death about you." He must have seen the flash in Jaune's eyes and known that another tirade was coming but he held up a hand and waited until Jaune slumped back down before continuing.

"You've been coming and going late, failing to complete assignments until the last minute; you've been antisocial, moody and worst of all, you've been neglecting your _team._ Pyrrha has been picking up the slack, but her greatest concern is still for you. She hasn't been sleeping because she's up all night worrying about you. Her grades are suffering, and she constantly wants to follow you or ask you and fight out what you've been doing, but she can't because she's too tired to even stand."

A wave of guilt washed over Jaune, made all the worse because he realized now that _he hadn't even noticed._ He'd been so concerned with his own troubles that he'd neglected his team, and even worse, he'd neglected his partner in her time of need. Jaune looked at Ren and finally recognized the emotion in his eyes and now on his face as well. It was not solely anger or disappointment or even guilt as Jaune had expected. Rather, it seemed to be an amalgamation of all three. Anger at Jaune's not telling him or the rest of their team. Disappointment at Jaune's unwillingness to accept help. Guilt because Ren himself did not recognize it sooner. Jaune's head fell again as a fresh wave of remorse threatened to swamp him, even as Ren continued.

"I know you think that telling us will inspire a wave of pity-driven good will towards you; and of course we would want to help our team leader. But leaving us out of the loop because you don't want our help is only doing more harm than good. Please Jaune… just tell Pyrrha and Nora what you told me. They will understand. I will speak to them also, and tell them that you don't wish help… that this is something you feel you must do on your own. They will not like it… but they will respect it." He leaned in close, his eyes locking onto Jaune's.

"Because that's what teammates do."

He offered a hand and Jaune took it, rising to his feet. He brushed himself off and stood awkwardly for a moment before embracing Ren in the manliest way he could muster. He remained that way for a few moments before it occurred to him that a barista and a Huntsman hugging it out on the sidewalk might look a tad strange. Stepping back, he rubbed a hand through his hair subconsciously.

"Sorry," he muttered and Ren chuckled, bringing renewed hope to Jaune. He stood a little straighter and faced the green-clad young warrior. "Ren," he started, "I promise, I will come home early tonight. I'll tell Pyrrha and Nora everything… but I can't quit my job here. Not yet. I've finally found something I'm really, naturally good at all by myself. But more than that, I still need the money, and I have a plan to make it all by the time it's due."

This elicited an eyebrow raise from Ren and Jaune briefly considered telling him about Junior's side business and Jaune's looking into it before thinking better. _Ren already has enough on his plate,_ he thought. _He doesn't need to be worrying about this as well. And Pyrrha certainly doesn't._ Jaune took a breath and braced himself mentally the way he always did before telling a lie.

"My boss is offering a ah… a bonus, yeah, a bonus to the employee with the best sales record for the month. I'm already well on my way, but I'm going to need to keep working at it in order to earn that extra pay." Ren considered this for a moment before nodding slowly.

"Well then," he said, "I guess you'd better get back to it." Jaune nodded before noticing that Ren's attention was fixed over his shoulder. Turning, he followed his teammate's gaze back towards the "Three Bears," just in time to see somebody hastily stride into the coffeeshop. He turned back to Ren and prepared to ask the question, only to find that in the moment he had used to turn and look, Ren had disappeared.

Straightening his uniform, he turned and walked back to the shop, thinking on the go. He'd just lied to Ren. Again. He felt bad about that, but he wouldn't do anything different. Ren needed to know the truth… just not the whole truth. Not yet, maybe not ever. It didn't matter; he'd talk to Junior about using a few of his extra minutes that he'd stayed overtime to get out of work early tonight. He might even try and make it back in time for dinner, if he could manage it. Then he could explain everything to his team.

He was so absorbed in his own thoughts that he didn't see the person in front of him until it was too late. He hit the big man's back and fell heavily, his balance thrown completely off. As he shook his head and stood again, he heard a chuckle and a quiet, stern, female voice.

"There you are! Tsk tsk, Laying down on the job? I might just have to file a complaint.

Opening his eyes, Jaune saw the imposing form of Yatsuhashi offering him a hand off the ground. As he stood, he saw that it was Coco who had spoken and was now tapping one foot and checking her watch in mock-impatience. Velvet and Fox merely stood by and watched the interplay with silent amusement.

"We were starting to worry that you might have gone and taken the rest of the day off," Coco continued. "Not that you'd do that to your best customers, of course." Jaune smiled sheepishly and rushed around to the back of the bar, throwing away the "Out to lunch" sign and pausing for a moment, holding up a hand and stopping Coco from placing her order. A moment later it came to him.

Two minutes and thirty-seven seconds later, he presented the entirety of the aptly named team CFVY their drinks. Coco nodded in appreciation as she took the tray and slowly allowed each of her teammates to take their drinks.

"Got it memorized now?" she asked and Jaune shrugged. He was thankful that he had actually spoken to Fox a few weeks earlier and told him why he didn't speak, though he could tell that his incomplete explanation still somewhat confused the team. As the rest of the team set off to take their place at their usual table, Coco lingered and took a long drink of her coffee, smiling blissfully.

"You're not really much for conversation, are you?" she asked and Jaune shrugged again. She chuckled as she continued. "You sure know how to mix a girl a drink, though." Jaune did a mock bow and pantomimed an ol' tip 'o the hat as she took another appreciative drink. Jaune stood awkwardly for several moments, unsure of where to go next. Luckily, she kept the wheels on the road for him. "The rest of them were telling me we wouldn't be able to come in and get our drinks today; said we had too much to do. You're in Oobleck's "History of Kingdoms" theory, right? Ten-to-noon class?"

Jaune checked over his shoulder to make sure nobody was listening before nodding. She nodded as well before asking, "Did you finish the reading he assigned after last class?" Jaune kicked himself mentally and shook his head. Coco gave a small smile and a shrug. "Me neither; though, if you're free tonight, I was thinking I might head over to the library and get as much done as I could. If you… wanted to join, I mean, I wouldn't say no, if that's… something that uh… mhm." Jaune stood and waited for a moment before realizing she wasn't going to continue. It was a moment after that he realized that she had just effectively asked him out on a date.

He felt sweat beginning to bead on his forehead. Suddenly it felt as though everybody was listening in on their conversation, though he knew the only other people in the shop were a few midday stragglers and team CFVY, plus Junior in the back room. He took a deep breath and nearly said yes, before a calm, collected voice rang in his head.

"_Just tell Pyrrra and Nora what you have told me." _

"_They will understand."_

"_That's what teammates do."_

He took a deep breath and for the second time that day, he broke his golden rule.

"I'm… sorry, Coco but uh, not tonight. I… already promised someone else I'd give them the time of day." The words had sounded good in his mind; they got the point across without mincing words. It was only after a moment and seeing the sudden spark in Coco's eyes that he realized the other potential interpretation of "giving someone the time of day."

Oh fuck.

"Oh, alright then. Sorry," she said, turning and walking haughtily away from the bar. "I'm sorry I got in the way of all your plans. Hope you have fun, whatever you end up doing." Jaune briefly considered going after her, but the universe chose that moment to dump half a dozen customers on him; a great group coming through the door all at once, laughing and chatting over the tingling of the little bell over the door. Coco walked to her team, said something and did not wait for the rest to stand. She made her way to the door, wading through the crowd of newcomers and somehow managing not to put a hair out of place. As the rest of team CFVY fought to escape the coffeeshop, Jaune looked over the heads of the customers and saw Fox give him one backwards glance before exiting.

It only took Jaune a few minutes to serve the group who had entered. After that, he set about polishing the mugs, the way he always did in between rushes. For once though, it wasn't because it occupied his hands. In this instance, it was his mind that needed something else to focus on. Because if idle hands do the devil's work, it's the idle mind that suffers the consequences.

* * *

**AN – **And thus we have Part 4. Little longer than usual (had some extra time over the weekend), so I hope you guys enjoyed.

Some valuable life lessons from Sensei Ren, plus a little step forward (and roughly sixty steps back) on the JaunexCoco ship. Seriously though, I sometimes find it difficult to write Jaune, because while I love him to death, in character he's such a dumbass. Still, I digress.

Things are certainly picking up and I think you guys will enjoy the next chapter; I have some big plans to really get the gears turning. Expect it either Thursday or Friday this week. Until then, favorites, follows and reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

**Blonde Roast, Pt. 5**

* * *

As Jaune saw it, he was – and pardon the French – royally fucked.

Thankfully, Junior actually acquiesced and let Jaune take the night off early; with the condition that he come in early the next day to open up the shop.

The bus ride back to Beacon was a breeding ground for Jaune's thoughts and even as he tried to push them to the back of his mind and focus on the task at hand, they swelled greater and greater as they crashed and collided in Jaune's mind.

He had agreed to tell Nora and Pyrrha about his job, but now that he was committed he wondered _exactly_ what he would say. When he'd explained to Ren, everything had just sort of flowed out. It felt good to finally get it off his chest. With the rest of his team though things might be a bit trickier. Nora could be… volatile, and if Jaune said the wrong thing to Pyrrha while explaining, he could lose not just his friend but his partner. Someone who he would have to spend the next two-and-a-half years living in the same room with but knowing that there would forever be an unbridgeable gap between them.

On top of that, there was his miserable failure in interaction with Coco. He hadn't stopped kicking himself since she and her team had stormed out of the coffeeshop, and he knew that he'd still be kicking himself for a long while after. He had class with her on Monday; how was he going to handle that?

The bus ride felt far too short, and as he reentered the Beacon grounds he saw that night was beginning to fall. He checked his watch and observed that he had just enough time to change and make it to dinner.

As he made his way across the grounds, his coat pulled close to hide his work uniform, he spotted a light from the window where his dorm was and inhaled sharply, thinking that he might have to explain things earlier than he had expected. When he finally made it up to his dorm though, he found that it was only Ren, gently stirring a bit of milk into a cup of Atlesian breakfast tea. The green-clad Huntsman sipped his tea slowly as he watched Jaune from his seat before the window.

"So you did manage to get off early," he observed flatly. Jaune nodded.

"Yeah, I thought I'd join you guys for dinner." Ren nodded slowly and sipped his tea as Jaune stripped down and changed into a casual set of clothes, stowing away his work uniform in a footlocker beneath his bed and straightening his outfit in the mirror before looking to Ren. "Where are Pyrrha and Nora?" he asked. Ren sipped his tea again before answering.

"They went to the library a little while ago to finish homework." Ren's statement led to a mental jab of regret as Jaune was forced, yet again, to reflect on his earlier conversation with Coco. He merely nodded to Ren as he finished straightening his hair and walked to the door, turning to see if Ren was going to accompany him. His teammate finished his tea, set down the mug and stood, stepping through the doorway as Jaune held it for him.

As he shut and locked the door behind him, Jaune heard a great deal of noise coming from the door across the hall and waited for a moment, watching the door, before it flew open on its hinges and Yang Xiao Long collapsed onto the hallway floor. Ren and Jaune stood for a moment, watching the blonde Huntress for any sign of life before she stood and promptly doubled over laughing, pointing into her room. It was then that Jaune noticed the black ribbon clutched in Yang's hand. From inside team RWBY's dorm came the unmistakable sound of a pissed-off Blake Belladonna.

"Yang, I swear, give me that bow or I will knock you through something worse than a door!"

"Oh come on, I'm just having a little fun. Besides, you should go out without it for a change; I like when you show off those cute little—"

"Yang!"

"Oh geez, _fine_, here." Yang tossed the ribbon to her partner and the brunette girl caught it deftly, quickly tying it back into place over her ears. She noticed Jaune and Ren for the first time then.

"You didn't see any of that," she said. A moment later, Yang turned and waved politely and after another second Ruby and Weiss stuck their heads out the busted door.

"Hey Jaune," Ruby chirped and Jaune gave an awkward wave to her and Weiss, before clearing his throat.

"We were just heading down to dinner, you guys want to come with us?" he asked. The girls agreed and together, the six of them made their way downstairs and to the cafeteria. Dinner tonight was the usual fare; long tables with benches on either side, dozens of options on platters and in pitchers for everyone's tastes. Teachers sat at one end of the hall, with students occupying the rest. Already, many students had filed in and had taken their seats, chatting idly while waiting for the hour hit so they could start eating. Even as Jaune and the others entered, the clocktower boomed in the distance and dinner began in earnest. Students and teachers alike tore into meats, vegetables and sides of a hundred varieties.

Nora called out and beckoned Ren and Jaune over, the two bidding team RWBY goodbye as they went to sit in the pair of unoccupied seats next to their partners. Nora had already put together a plate for herself and Ren (both of which consisted of numerous food items Jaune knew the dark-haired Huntsman wouldn't be caught dead eating, and which Ren eyed wearily) and as Ren sat she burst out into conversation, her mouth already full.

"Scho, I've been thinking," she managed in between mouthfuls, "That we _really_ need to think of team _codenamesh_." Ren raised an eyebrow suspiciously as Jaune heaped his plate with meat and potatoes, not realizing until that moment how hungry he really was.

"Codenames, Nora?" The ginger girl nodded ferociously and swallowed.

"It's the perfect plan!" she said excitedly. "That way, when we're on missions we can communicate without anyone knowing!"

Ren was still skeptical. "But wouldn't they still be able to tell that we're talking to eachother? The codenames won't fool anybody if they can see us having a conversation. And even then, I don't think Grimm would even be listening in on our conversations in the first—"

"Shhhhhshshshshshsh shush" Nora said, bringing a finger up and placing it against her partner's lips, staying both his argument and the spoonful of hot soup on its way to his mouth. "No need to get all technical; we can work out the _minutiae_ later. For now, we need to figure out what we'd each be called." She considered for a moment before the proverbial lightbulb appeared and stood on her bench, eyes wide and expression enlightened.

"I've got it!" she exclaimed. "Ren, you'll be 'Green Sloth.' Get it? Because you wear green? And because you're a… well, like I said, details come later. Pyrrha, you can be 'Master of Poles.' Fitting, don't you think?" In answer, Pyrrha stirred slightly in her sleep and rolled over so she was facing Jaune. He noticed what Ren had been talking about now; she looked miserable. The dark circles under her eyes had grown deep and were an ugly shade of blackish-purple. Her hair was tousled and her outfit was creased and crumpled as she slept soundly on the hardwood surface of the table. He felt a pang of regret, knowing this was his fault.

"Nora," Jaune said, breaking his silence. "I for one think codenames might not be such a bad idea." He looked up and saw that Nora was eying him suspiciously, and he got the feeling she had heard something different than he had said. It wouldn't be the first time that had happened to him today.

"Soooooo, you're _not_ dead," she said and Jaune nearly choked on his food.

"W-what?" he stuttered out between coughs and Nora shrugged, never losing her accusatory glare.

"Well, you've been gone so often and you never speak when you're around, so naturally I assumed you had died and were haunting us. Naturally." She leaned in close across the table and extended a single finger which Jaune eyed warily right up to the moment it poked him in the forehead.

"What was that for?" he asked indignantly. Nora shrugged again.

"Just making sure you weren't a ghost."

Jaune eyed her incredulously for a few moments before finally muttering a very confused (and slightly concerned) "Huh?"

Dinner passed mostly uneventfully after that. Nora took to making small armies out of the green beans and baby carrots that Ren made her eat and started making them reenact battles from the War – complete with sound effects and ketchup blood. On the bright side, it at least told Jaune she was paying _some_ attention in history class. Jaune took a minute to scan the room after he was finished eating and noticed that things were mostly the same. Team RWBY was laughing and joking, Cardin was chatting with his team and trying not to look like an absolute prick (and failing), and for just a moment he caught a glimpse of Velvet's ears over the heads of some other students before the shy girl noticed him and ducked out of sight. A little while later he saw Coco and Fox arguing by the door before the fashion-conscious Huntress made a series of exasperated gestures and stormed out, her partner rubbing his temples after she had gone.

When Nora was finally finished wiping out the forces of Greenbeanopolis with the help of the Carrotopian's newfound allies the Grapes (why the Grapes didn't get a special name Jaune was too afraid to ask), Ren stood and suggested that they head back to their dorms. Along the way he caught Jaune's sleeve and asked him to get some coffee for Pyrrha – if she was going to be staying awake long enough to hear Jaune's explanation, she'd need it.

When the team finally made it back to their dorm, Nora and Ren half-carrying a now-conscious Pyrrha, Jaune closed the door behind them and prepared the coffee for himself and Pyrrha. He noted as he did so that mixing milk and sugar into coffee from a can was a welcome step backwards from preparing intricate drinks in a high-end shop.

He sat on the edge of his bed alongside Pyrrha and gently pressed the cup of steaming coffee (dark roast, skim milk, no sugar) into her hands. She accepted with a sad sort of smile and took a long drought of the beverage. Sighing heavily, she turned to her team at large.

"So, what's going on? Jaune's home early and he's making coffee, Nora is calmed down… you're not dying, are you Ren?" Jaune struggled to hide his elation at hearing the familiar note of humor and liveliness in his partner's voice. It was there, he now knew. It was just hidden; repressed by the weight of her stress and fatigue.

"Well," Ren said, mixing himself another cup of tea, "Jaune and I had a chat today. He has some things he needs to explain."

'Hey Ren, I got this," Jaune said and the his dark-haired teammate nodded, backing off. Jaune took a deep breath and found it hard to form the words. Every thought that had been crashing and colliding in his mind up until this moment seemed to have abandoned him. What did he say? How did he say it?

A memory came back to him at that moment. It had been almost a year, but the words still echoed in his mind.

_"Just be honest,"_ the voice in the back of his mind echoed. _"You can't get it wrong if it's the truth._"

"Guys," he began hesitantly. "I... I lied to you. All of you. And I'm sorry." All eyes in the room were fixated on him and he sensed no hostility, so he picked up steam. "I've... been having some money problems. I was stupid and I didn't want to accept help - I guess I still am stupid, because I still don't - so I got a job in town. I'm uh..." he reached under his bunk and withdrew his uniform, immaculately folded, and shook it out so Pyrrha and Nora could both see. "I'm a barista."

A lengthy silence followed and Jaune's eyes flitted from Pyrrha to Nora to Ren and back. Finally, Pyrrha spoke, her tone betraying nothing.

"So that is where you've been going every evening? And on the weekends? And where you've been coming from late?" Jaune nodded hesitantly and Pyrrha took a long drink of her coffee before setting the mug down. "Why didn't you tell us this sooner?" she asked, her voice still neutral. Jaune's shoulders slumped.

"I knew that if you knew I was in financial trouble you'd want to help, and I couldn't allow that. You guys already do so much for me... You train with me, and you give me advice and put up with my stupid stunts and I care about you guys; you're the best friends I've ever had. I couldn't allow you to give up your own money for me. This was something I had to do on my own, and I know it's stupid and irresponsible but I wasn't about to let-"

She hugged him.

A moment later, Nora leapt across the gap and joined in, clutching her leader and his partner tightly. A moment later she turned and barked at Ren for him to "get his skinny green butt over here." An order to which Ren happily complied.

Several minutes later, Pyrrha finally released Jaune (Nora took some additional convincing) and the Mistrali Huntress placed her hands on Jaune's shoulders, gripping him tightly and fixing him with an emerald gaze. "Jaune, I forgive you for lying," she said. "I understand why you did what you did, and I won't argue if you feel that you have to continue." Jaune was about to thank her before she held up a finger to stop him. "But," she said, "If you ever lie to us again, you'll wish I had left you nailed to a tree in the Emerald Forest last year." Knowing that they had reached an agreement (Jaune's saying as much was not required; she knew he would agree), she let him go.

"So," she said, "Now that you're back, what do you say we call it a night? Ren can make pancakes; it's been so long since we just sat down as a team and-"

"Actually, Pyrrha, not tonight. Tomorrow, definitely but... I have something else I need to do tonight." _"You can't get it wrong if it's the truth."_

"Oh," she said, not repressing her slight disappointment. "Alright then, but I'm holding you to your word about tomorrow." He smiled and mock-bowed.

"Don't worry, an Arc never goes back on his word."

* * *

The library was all-but abandoned at this hour, most students having retired. A few sat by themselves at tables or computers, but otherwise the place was as quiet as a crypt. Coco was sitting in the furthest corner of the space, hunched over a textbook with her earbuds in. She didn't notice Jaune until he sat across from her, plopping his textbook and homework heavily onto the table. She looked up and her eyes blazed as she withdrew one earbud.

"What?" she asked shortly and Jaune took a deep breath.

"Earlier, when I said I had other plans... I needed to tell my team that I was working at the coffeeshop. That's what took me so long." She cocked an eyebrow at him.

"They didn't already know?" and Jaune shook his head.

"Not until half an hour ago, no. But I couldn't go on lying to them, especially not once I saw how much it was hurting them. I told them everything." A pause followed while he scratched his head and Coco stared back down at her page in the textbook. Her eyes remained fixed though, so Jaune knew she was only waiting for him to continue. "Coco, I may not be the smartest, or the best fighter or the best at talking to girls, or, well, anybody really, but I amazed myself earlier in that not only did I recognize your invitation to come here, but I wanted to. More than anything; I was perfectly ready to blow off telling my team everything to come here. Whatever that means... anyway, have a good night, Coco." He stood and began to leave but was surprised to find her hand pressed palm-down on his textbook and papers when he went to pick them up.

"If... you don't have any other plans this evening... I wouldn't mind if you stuck around." Jaune turned and found a pair of intelligent, strong brown eyes returning his gaze. The same eyes he had seen that first day he was working at "The Three Bears."

"Well... I suppose I could stick around for a while," he said as nonchalantly as he could manage as he sat back down. Coco smirked.

"Perfect. By the way, you got problems 9, 10, 14 and 20 wrong."

* * *

**AN:** And so we have chapter 5. This one took much longer than I expected to write, but I hope the story progression and additional length make up for it. It at least partially concluded a couple of story arcs and leaves me free to devote the next couple chapters almost entirely to the main dramatic plot of the series. Looking forward to the challenge.

So what'd you guys think of my attempts to write romance? I admit, it's not my cup of tea but I did what I could because I know how much you guys like your ships. Who knows? Maybe Blonde Roast will actually become a legitimate ship that people will follow. One day... Maybe...

In any case, thanks for helping me reach 100 story favorites, and I hope you guys enjoyed! As always, favs, follows and reviews are appreciated. See you soon, and thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

**Blonde Roast, Pt. 6**

* * *

The next few weeks passed in a blur. Jaune slowly managed to find little ways to work his personal life into his work, making time on certain evenings and occasionally on weekends to spend the day spending time with his team or Coco. He still worked brutal hours by necessity, but he had the support of his team and Coco to keep him going now.

Pyrrha, for her part, was doing much better now that she had stopped worrying about Jaune. Gone were the signs of her fatigue; the dark circles and vacant gazes as she pretended to listen during lectures. She was back to her normal self, and for that, Jaune couldn't be more thrilled. Nothing had hurt him half as much as seeing her in the state she had been in before Jaune's confession. Nora was still herself, but Ren seemed even more at peace than usual, seeing things returning to some semblance of normalcy.

Coco for her part seemed to be enjoying having someone new to waste her time with. She'd adapted quickly to Jaune's unique (read: awkward) sense of humor, and had even suggested that their two teams should see if they could get a mission together when the time came. To this team JNPR had excitedly agreed, phrasing the numerous benefits which could come from such a matchup.

Still though, Jaune sometimes found it difficult to focus on everything that was going well. The threat of the coming tuition deadline still loomed over his head, and he sighed heavily and placed his head in his hands one night as he tallied the amount he had made from working the shop. Despite all his work – his overtime, his bonuses, all of it – he still found himself several hundred lien short. He calculated the hours he'd have to work to make the payment on time and found himself realizing that there was no possible way he'd have enough in time to pay the semester deadline.

When he informed his team of as much, they comforted him to the best of his abilities. Ren told him that he was making Junior so much money there was no possible way that Junior could go much longer without giving him a substantial raise. Pyrrha informed him that perseverance would pay off; and if not, he could always take out a loan with the school for a little longer – just until he made up the extra difference.

Surprisingly though, the best advice he could have received – though maybe not the best advice in the long run – came from Nora.

"Well," she said in her normal cheery voice one morning as Jaune laced up his shoes, "You could always find some other job on the side."

"Another job? Nora, I'm on thin ice with the job I already _have._ I really don't…" Halfway through his argument, a thought occurred to him. His mind jumped to past images of Junior meeting with all manner of people in the back room of "The Three Bears." He conjured images of a well-dressed man in a bowler and a suit, and a short girl with mismatched eyes. He thought of late-night internet searches about information brokering. It was then that an idea came to him. It was a stupid idea; foolhardy and most-likely suicidal. But if it paid off… he might never have to worry about financial troubles again.

He stood quickly, running across the room and out the door, calling over his shoulder "Nora, you're a genius!" as he went. Out in the hall, his mind raced. He began to formulate a plan. It was a risk – probably one that would get him killed if he couldn't pull it off, but if it came to fruition… the opportunity to wipe away all debt and avoid having to ever pay again was too tempting.

As the thoughts swirled in his mind, he made his way through the next few days in a daze. He worked as best he could in his classes – and spent a good deal of his extra time studying with his team or Coco – and worked at "The Three Bears" as regularly as he could. Luckily, Junior didn't seem to be going back on his original promise not to penalize Jaune for his schooling, but there were times when he was downright dismissive of Jaune and the other employees. He merely retreated into the back room and did his work, whatever that entailed.

By the time the next Saturday came about, Jaune had prepared himself as much as he could. He had planned and re-planned every step of what he was about to do. He'd drawn up backups in case things went awry. He'd even taken to drafting a will that left his meager belongings as a student to his team – all except Crocea Mors, which would go back to his family. He'd used a secure internet connection to get in contact with a man looking for information, and had managed to secure a meeting. Tonight.

The hour was late – only a few minutes until closing. Junior had passed Jaune the keys on his way out and told him to lock up and leave the keys inside the shade of the streetlight outside the coffeeshop. Jaune was busily wiping down the surface of the bar with a dishrag when the door chimed. All other customers had long cleared out, so when he heard the chime Jaune knew precisely who had come to see him.

The guy was average in every sense of the word; just under six feet, no more than one-hundred sixty pounds, with light brown hair and dark brown eyes. He looked around the empty room before finding a seat at a table. He shot a glance towards the bar but looked away when Jaune tried to make eye contact. Setting aside the rag, Jaune set about brewing a fresh cup of coffee. A moment later he walked to the back room and hastily scribbled a message on a napkin.

"_If you're who I think you are, take a sip of the coffee."_

Satisfied, he took the napkin and placed it on a tray. Pouring the fresh dark roast into a mug, he set the mug on top of the napkin and carried the tray to the man at the table. He looked confused for a moment and almost argued, but Jaune just shrugged silently and made his way back to the counter, returning to his wiping.

While still wishing not to cause any sort of cosmic problem by thinking so, Jaune couldn't help but applaud himself at how well he was doing. With luck, the man would think that the message Jaune had brought him was from someone in the back room and not Jaune himself. Nobody ever expected the barista.

Looking up, he saw the man finally noticed the napkin and take a short sip of the coffee, before apparently deciding that he actually _was_ thirsty and taking a long, hearty draught. Jaune saw this and made his way back to the back room, scribbling another message.

"_You wanted to know about someone? A lawyer, you said?"_

He took the napkin, this time with a small plate of scones, out to the table and set them down. Though the man abstained from the pastries, he nodded slightly after reading the note, before writing something with his own pen on the back of the napkin and dropping it into the empty mug. As he returned it to the counter, Jaune took the napkin to the back room and read it in private as the man returned to his table.

"_The lawyer who covered my divorce settlement. I believe he extorted me and charged my ex-wife far less."_

Jaune read over the words several more times before writing another message, asking for a description.

Over the next few minutes, Jaune ran several more messages back and forth between his client and his "Boss." He gathered every relevant detail he might need; the look and potential company of the target, the information that the client wanted and, most importantly, the amount that the client was willing to pay. Sufficed to say, it was more than enough to pay off Jaune's debt for the rest of his second year.

At the end of the evening Jaune sent out a final message.

"_Return in three days at this time, I'll have the information you're looking for."_ He briefly considered changing it, but decided against the edit. Better to look like he knew what he was doing. Besides, the client's description had given Jaune more than a clear picture of who to look for – the man was in every day it seemed like; lawyering must be thirsty work. Jaune would get the information, give it to the client and, most importantly, get his pay.

His mind jumped back and forth and up and down at the very prospect of simply _holding_ that much money. He could think of no shortage of things he could potentially do with it, and he had to contain himself before his mind even began to formulate the possibility that the money would go toward something other than his tuition. This was a one-time deal. He'd get the money for the semester, and then he was giving up on the business before it got him into trouble.

He dropped the final napkin at the man's table and began to lock up for the evening once he was sure the client had left. Before finished up though he went behind the counter and slumped against the wall, all the tension and nerves of the encounter suddenly catching up to him.

What if he had messed it up? He did everything right, he told himself. What if the customer went to the police? The guy was desperate – he's willing to do anything. He won't talk. What if Jaune couldn't deliver in the timeframe he had set himself up for? He knew the target that he had to find – getting the info the guy needed would be a piece of cake. This was a stupid idea – he should have never even begun to delve into information brokering; there were just too many risks involved. If he hadn't, he reminded himself, he would've been sunk when the time to pay back his tuition costs came around.

No, he told himself. There was no other way. I've done everything right so far. The key now was to keep on top of things.

Satisfied, he finished locking up, hid the key and started back toward Beacon.

* * *

The next day, he looked out for the target as he worked, but did not see him the whole day. That evening, he sat with Coco on a small bench on the Beacon grounds, his minds wandering as the two sat, merely enjoying the time together. At one point she scooted over on the bench and laid her head across his shoulder. He didn't move her, but shifted slightly, enjoying the closeness.

"I'm leaving tomorrow," she said finally. Jaune nodded. She had told him a week or so earlier; team CFVY was going on a solo mission up north; reports from a small town about some powerful Grimm starting to amass in the area. Jaune worried for her, of course. "Powerful Grimm" wasn't exactly the best way to summarize why she was taking a few days off of school, but Jaune understood well enough that there was nothing he could do to dissuade her. She and her team and spoken to Professor Ozpin and agreed; this was a mission that required a more elite team's touch, and team CFVY's track record was unmatched when it came to extermination missions.

He cautiously moved an arm around her back and when she did not resist he pulled her in a little closer.

"Just… be careful, alright?" he said. "Don't take risks and… and take your time. I'll still be here when you get back. Just… just come back, OK?" She looked at him and smiled, her brown eyes sparkling in the sunset and reflecting back out of Jaune's own royal blue pools.

"I know," she said solemnly before her voice took on a more lighthearted tone. "But when I get back, you're going to have to let _me_ take _you_ out for coffee, OK?" Jaune chuckled nervously.

"Coco, that's real sweet but uh, y'know, I'm not really a fan of coffee." She raised an eyebrow.

"And you work as a barista?"

"Well sure," he said. "I mean, I'm just not really a fan of the taste is all. Besides, plenty of folks work at things they don't necessarily like. My mom used to work at a tailor – she hated sewing, pricked her fingers every time she tried to do it." Coco laughed and Jaune couldn't help but beam. Every time she laughed his heart fluttered a little. It was a sound he loved, and he wished he had started listening to it sooner.

He checked his watch. "Oh boy," he said. "Curfew's in fifteen minutes. We'd better get moving. C'mon, I'll walk you back to your do—" His offer to walk her home went unanswered as she pulled him in and kissed him on the mouth, forcefully at first, so as to stop him in his tracks, but more gently after that – especially when she realized that he was responding in kind.

Jaune was momentarily unsure of how to react, but he followed his instinct. _All women look for is confidence, Jaune,_ he told himself. It must have been enough, because it seemed satisfactory for his partner.

And as that moment that he wished could last forever progressed, Jaune found that he had been wrong. He _did_ like the taste of coffee.

* * *

**AN – **First off, I am _really_ sorry that this took so long. I released a one-shot last weekend from Copenhagen to try and clear out some ideas while I dealt with a bit of block for this one, but I'm back on track now with a decent idea of where I want to go from here. In any case, I apologize again for the wait.

That said, what'd you guys think? Some major story progression here, with us finally seeing exactly how Jaune is going to make that last bit of money he needs before his deadline arrives. Also, some more progression with Jaune x Coco (which is, for the record, officially dubbed "Blonde Roast," by me), hopefully not going too fast? Romance isn't really my thing, at least in writing. I'm more of a tragedy / action / intrigue kind of guy, but I did the best I could and I hope it was sufficient. Next time, we'll have a longer chapter with more focus on Jaune's new side-business.

Until then, feel free to favorite, follow and review. I'm always looking for feedback and advice, so please, don't hesitate to post something. See you next time, and thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

**Blonde Roast, Part 7**

Jaune found the information he needed the day after Coco and her team departed.

Her parting words still echoed in his head, and he felt a twinge of emotion deep in his chest every time his mind conjured an image of her face. He'd grown close to her and her team in the past few weeks, though the time had scarcely seemed to pass. Fox's active personality – offering multiple times during his off-hours to take Jaune to the races or the fight club downtown. Yatsuhashi's quiet, almost sage-like protecting of Velvet, who he obviously viewed as a close friend and possibly more; unsurprisingly, Jaune found it difficult to get answers out of the stalwart warrior. Velvet herself was cheery and active as ever; she was even something of a party girl when around Coco.

Besides team CFVY, Jaune's relationship with his own team was better than ever. The weather was beautiful, even in the dead of winter, and not even the looming threat of finals could dampen their spirits. Pyrrha had taken on a position as a teaching aide and was rumored to be bringing up some of the finest first-year trainees in terms of combat prowess.

Ren and Nora found themselves taking trips whenever they had the time out to Forever Fall – Ren claimed they were hunting Grimm, but Jaune harbored the sneaking suspicion that Nora just wanted the red tree sap. And Jaune found himself working the same way he had been. It wasn't a particularly interesting job, but it occupied his free time and he found himself enjoying it.

The day he found the information though, was the day he would forever remember as the time when it started.

He watched the lawyer as inconspicuously as he could when the well-heeled man entered the show and ordered his usual – dark roast, no cream, one sugar. A boring drink for a boring man, or so Jaune had always thought of him. Listening for the right things though brought about a remarkable discovery; there was no such thing as a boring person.

The lawyer sat in a booth by himself and took out his scroll, propping it up with a kickstand and beginning to check his emails. Jaune brewed the man's coffee and declined his coworker's offer to take the drink to the man's table, silently answering that there was no need; he could take care of it.

As he made his way to the table, clutching the steaming to-go cup, he tried to shoot a glance at the man's computer. The lawyer looked up though and his face showed his clear impatience.

"About time," he muttered peevishly under his breath, despite only having been waiting for two or three minutes and Jaune felt a twinge of anger deep inside himself. He didn't normally let his emotions get in the way (at least not anger), but he found himself, as he would later reflect on with horror, hoping that whatever information he dug up on this guy would put him in a hole so deep he wouldn't be able to dig himself out with a backhoe.

That was a problem for later though; in the now, Jaune realized as he closed the distance, he couldn't see what was on that scroll. Whatever it was, the man seemed intent on hiding it, and that told Jaune that it was important.

Time to improvise.

Closing his eyes and preparing himself for what was about to happen, he tripped.

The cup of steaming coffee went flying into the lawyer's lap, and he cried out with a scream of pain and anger that Jaune swore could send a beowolf running.

"Dear GOD, what the hell is wrong with you?!" he screamed and Jaune feigned concern and shock as all eyes in the shop swiveled to the scene.

"I'm so sorry," he said as he hastily pulled out the rag he had (conveniently) tucked into the wasteband of his apron and began mopping the still-steaming brew off the tabletop and seat. The lawyer hissed numerous obscenities as Jaune began trying to clean off the coffee and swatted away his hands.

"Get off me!" he said. "You've done enough." As Jaune stepped aside the man, still in a rage, stormed off toward the restroom, leaving a trail of spattered coffee droplets along the hardword floor. Perfect. He took the bait like a fish. As Jaune took the rag and resumed his cleaning of the tabletop, he shot several unobtrusive glances at the screen of the abandoned scroll.

"_Aria,_

"_No, I don't think Grise expects anything; your ex-husband couldn't find pussy in a whorehouse, do you really think he's going to figure this out?_

"_You need to quit worrying. Just a few weeks more and then the payments will be finalized. I'll drain your pinhead of an ex of every lien he's made in the last five years and we'll be on that flight to Vacuo before he even gets the news that the deal is done._

"_In the meantime, thanks for stopping by last night. If you had told me that you knew how to…"_

_Oh Jesus,_ Jaune thought as his eyes finished the email. It made no difference. He had what he needed. Checking over his shoulder to make sure that he was unwatched, he took out his own scroll and hastily took a snapshot of the lawyer's screen – capturing everything he needed in one go. Putting away his scroll he stepped back and made his way back to the counter. Along the way he passed the lawyer, leaving the restroom, and apologized again. The man spat another curse and Jaune found his place behind the bar and dropped the coffee-stained rag into the sink.

He noticed that his coworker on this shift – a plump young woman named Ginger – shot him an incredulous sidelong glance. Her eyes drifted toward the back room. The door was closed and there was no noise from behind it. Jaune couldn't recall Junior coming in since he had been working, but he'd started late so anything was possible. Still, if Junior was there, he would have surely come out when all the commotion started. He silently mouthed "Tell no one," and gave a sidelong smile, his scroll pressing comfortably against his side.

That scroll was knowledge. That scroll was wealth. That scroll was _power_.

* * *

When the deadline came around, Jaune had prepared himself perhaps even more thoroughly than he had before the first meeting. He had printed the picture he had taken on his scroll and enclosed it in an envelope to be left at the dead-drop he had chosen. When the client had come in on the expected day and sat at his usual table, Jaune had disappeared into the back room (vacant, as Junior was out for the day) and scribbled a note to the man, briefly describing the location and contents of the envelope, as well as instructions for payment. The agreed-upon amount was to be left in the same location as the information was picked up from.

Though Jaune would have no way of holding his client to it, he also promised that if he tried to cheat him out of his payment, "The Broker" would know, and punishment would be meted accordingly.

As he dropped the tray with the note and the man's usual drink on the table before him, he returned to counter and took orders as per usual. All the better, he supposed. If the man even began to suspect that Jaune was his contact and not just an intermediary, the blonde barista was sunk. The man merely scanned the note though and took his coffee to-go. Jaune smiled to himself when the man had gone and said a silent prayer that everything went smoothly.

And for the first time in Jaune's life, his prayers were answered.

After closing up the shop that night, Jaune took a detour on his way home. He asked the bus to drop him at a spacious public square, popular with shoppers, walkers, runners and all other sorts of people. At this hour though, the park was abandoned. Perfect.

Jaune made his way to the gnarled old tree where he had left the envelope that morning and, ensuring that he was not being watched, reached into the barely-visible knoll where he had hidden the information. As his hands closed around something plastic, he felt his heartrate accelerate. He slowly withdrew his hand and looked around the square once more before fully extracting the package and examining it in the glow cast by the intermittently-scattered lampposts.

The client had stayed true to his word. Clutched in Jaune's hands was a package that not only would assure him of another year at Beacon, but would leave him enough leftover to buy a small apartment. Twenty-thousand lien in marked, legitimate notes, the multi-colored cards seeming to hum to Jaune in the dim late-evening light.

He tucked the money into his bag and made his way to the bus stop. All the way home he found himself surreptitiously checking over his shoulder every few moments and dubiously watching every other passenger on the bus with suspicion. He didn't think on it at the time, but later he would reflect that it was the money that did that to him. The feeling of having that much wealth - the very idea of how rich you were set your nerves on edge; because deep down you knew that there were people who would be willing to do anything to get their hands on what was yours - what you had struggled to earn! Slowly, Jaune forced himself to calm down. These people weren't trying to steal from him; they didn't even know he had the money. The money...

Jaune found his hand unconsciously sliding to his bag, the very presence of the cash seeming to draw him in. Were others feeling the same thing? Could they feel just how close they were to such wealth?

_No, no Jaune, stop!_ he commanded himself. _Calm down - just keep it cool until you get back to Beacon._

When the bus dropped him off and he made his way up toward the university he found himself looking with suspicion at every shadow. Shaking his head he quickened his pace, trying to shake off the doubts and paranoia. When he reached the grounds he made his way quickly to his dorm. Along the way he nearly bowled over Ruby.

"Hey Jaune," she chirped in her usual cheery tone. "Where're you going in such a hurry?"

Jaune tried not to let his defensive tone creep into his voice. "Eh-hm. Uh, nowhere. Where are _you_ going?" Ruby gestured over her shoulder to where Weiss was just emerging from team RWBY's dorm.

"Going over to the library. We were going to make a call to Velvet, if she's on the grid. Say..." she said, regarding him with a bit of mischevious suspicion. Alarms were going off in Jaune's head; telling him to run, that they knew, that they were going to try and take it from him; or worse, tell someone else about it. He quelled the murmurs of discontent as Ruby continued. "You're been getting awfully friendly with team CFVY recently, why don't you come with us?"

Jaune swallowed a lump in his throat the size of an egg and forced a smile, hoping his nervousness didn't show. "Uh, thanks Ruby but I, mhm, I need to spend some time with my team tonight." Ruby and the newly arrived Weiss both regarded him for a moment before Weiss shrugged and moved on without a word, Ruby throwing up her hands in a "suit yourself" sort of gesture and following her teammate.

"Have a good night, Jaune," she called over her shoulder.

"Yeah..." he said, voice falling to a murmur as he made his way into his room. "Goodnight."

His team was asleep and in their bunks when Jaune entered as quietly as he could, slipping out of his clothes and into his nightwear. As he did, he took the bag of money from his pack and pushed it to the bottom of his footlocker, covering it with clothes and old "X-Ray and Vav" comics before closing and latching the metal chest. As he turned and stood he heard a yawn.

"Jaune?" he heard Pyrrha's voice ask sleepily. 'You're late." Jaune smiled regretfully as he made his way to his bed, sitting down as Pyrrha rolled over to face him, sleep still clouding her expression.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Got... held up at work, that's all." _You lied to her again. When are you going to come straight? She's your partner; she deserves to know._ "Sorry," he said again, lying down and throwing the blankets over himself. In the faint light cast by the moon from the big windows, Jaune could have sworn he saw Pyrrha's eyes dart toward the footlocker. But... no, there was no way. Just a trick of his mind; residual paranoia.

"Goodnight, Jaune," she said; her voice tinged with emotion that Jaune did not understand, at the time, was sadness.

* * *

The next morning, Jaune rose before breakfast and took the money, as well as everything he had been saving from working at "The Three Bears" to the office of admissions. He had done the math and counted out every lien he needed to pay for the rest of the year, as well as wipe away the loans he had taken out for the first semester. The woman at the office regarded the money somewhat suspiciously at first, but she recognized the bills as being legitimate and did not pry, which Jaune was thankful for. She tapped a few keys on her computer and smiled at Jaune.

"Congratulations, Mr. Arc," she said. "You've successfully paid in full for the remainder of the year. You should be sure to thank whoever it was who loaned you this money." Jaune gave a wry smile and cleared his throat awkwardly at that.

"Actually ma'am, I earned all this money myself." She cocked an eyebrow, though her amazement (and skepticism) was plain to see.

"Is that so? Well, I won't fault you or your work ethic; it's not easy to make this much money. Good day, young man." As Jaune left the office, he found himself with a new spring in his step. It was over. He was paid. He'd still keep his job at the cafe, because deep in his heart he knew he still had two more years to pay for. But he was ecstatic because he also knew that now he'd have the rest of the year and all of the next to earn the money. He was king of his castle, right now, and nothing could tear it down.

* * *

Jaune's castle began its long, painful crumble the next day.

He was at the shop in the evening, wiping down the surface of the bar like he always did in the off-hours when the door chimed. He looked up and was quite surprised to see the familiar figures of the tall man in the white coat and bowler, along with his petite companion moving into the shop with purpose. As they made their way through the half-dozen or so midday loungers, the man in the suit addressed Jaune directly.

"You - where's your boss." Jaune's eyes widened in surprise before he jerked his thumb in the direction of the back room, where Junior was, as per usual, at work doing God-knows-what. As the man made his way into the back room, not even bothering to knock, the tri-colored young woman followed and winked at Jaune as she passed. He felt his cheeks redden as he returned to his task.

Over the course of the next few minutes, he heard numerous curse words and muffled yells emanate from the back room. He didn't know what was going on and he wasn't sure he really wanted to know, because whatever it was it wasn't good. Things came to a head when the door banged open on its hinges and Junior came out, vigorously rubbing his temples with one hand.

"I don't know!" he was saying as the gentleman in the suit and his companion followed.

"Not good enough, Xiong," the man was saying and Jaune was taken aback when he heard the use of his boss's proper name. To everyone - especially his employees, he was just Junior. "I know what's going on, and you know more than you're telling me, so why don't we just cut the crap and sort this all out like the respectable businessmen we both are?"

Junior rounded on the man with surprising speed, eyes ablaze. "I have told you time and time again Torchwick, I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't had any dealings out of this place since you visited me a few months ago - least of all transactions that paid with your money!" Jaune felt as though someone had punched him in the stomach, but he forced himself to not allow his emotion to show as he and the rest of the shop's patrons watched the confrontation unfold. There was no way. How...?

"Let me go over the facts for you once last time," Torchwick said, closing the gap between himself and the much-taller man, though he showed no sign of backing down. His hand still rested casually on the hooked cane he always carried, his companion was watching with equal parts vigilance and bemusement and when the well-heeled ginger spoke again, his quiet voice carried the same note of intensity.

"A man stole from me recently. When I caught up to him, he told me that recently he came in here, looking for information. He had picked up your name online and needed help getting info - that's just fine, I'm not here to tell you how to do business. But when that little rat took _my_ money and used it to pay for services rendered, _that_ is something I will not abide. Now, I'm twenty-thousand lien in the hole and I want some goddamn answers, or so help me I will burn your little _business venture_ here to ashes and smoke them with a glass of wine - you hear me?"

"Oh yeah," Junior said. "I hear you, now make sure you can heat _me._ I didn't 'render service' to anyone who contacted me. I've gotten dozens of messages asking for information but I never handle the transactions in person, or if I do I take care of it downtown, not here. Aside from your last visit, this has been a place of legitimate business and I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize that. _I haven't sold info to anyone out of this shop, _not for twenty lien, not for twenty-thousand lien. Get it?"

Jaune's inner monologue at this moment could be summarized with a heavy use of profanity and numerous forceful mental kicks, but he forced himself to watch the unfolding spectacle and bit his lip as he truly began to grasp what he had done. As Torchwick took a step back and regarded Junior coolly, he reached into his coat and withdrew a cigar and lighter.

He took a long drag and looked around the shop, as though he was sizing it up for renovation. He blew the smoke out and snapped his fingers at his companion, gesturing to the door as he made his way out. As he passed Junior, Jaune saw him lean in and whisper one final remark. Though the words were unclear, Jaune saw Junior's fists clench in anger as he turned and watched the swaggering accuser exit the shop, stopping at the door to drop a bit of ash onto the carpet.

When he was gone, Jaune let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. He briefly made eye contact with Junior as the enraged mobster made his way back to his office.

"Get all these people out of here and take the rest of the night off," he said bitterly. Then he disappeared into the back room, door slamming behind him, and Jaune was left to ponder the question that had filled his mind ever since the argument began.

_What have I started?_

* * *

**AN - **Whew! So that was chapter seven, and HOLY HELL THE SHIT IS ABOUT TO HIT THE FAN **HARD**. I apologize for the long wait but I struggled a bit on bringing this chapter into being, before finally sitting down last night and redoing pretty much everything I had done for this part. Thus explains the long wait and the longer chapter itself, which I hope you can forgive and understand.

That said, things are reaching a climax very quickly. We finally understand just how severe the consequences for Jaune's actions can potentially be, and the next couple of chapters will see the events he has set in motion come to pass (for better or worse).

I imagine this will be the third-to-last chapter of Blonde Roast, as I'm on the track to my endgame now. Expect lots more drama in the next couple episodes, as well as some closure to the Jaune x Coco romance arc (see what I did there?). Until then, please provide feedback, favs, follows and reviews, and thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

**Blonde Roast, Part 8**

* * *

Jaune's mind raced a mile a minute as the bus seemed to amble back to Beacon; Torchwick and Junior's heated conversation echoing in his mind. The money that the client had paid with was stolen. Stolen from a man who had threatened, in a packed café in broad daylight, to burn down the very shop in which he stood. And Jaune didn't need to dig to know he was serious; he had finally remembered where he had seen Torchwick before.

The man was on every newscast in Vale every other night of the week. Larceny, robbery, assault; the man had a sheet a mile long, and growing by the day. The next morning, at breakfast, he dropped the guy's name as casually as he could, leading to a snort of derision from Yang.

"_That_ asshole? Haven't heard from him or his bunch since he broke out of General Ironwood's custody." Blake also scowled at the mention of the name.

"I still can't believe he got away; how could the general let his guard down?" she asked angrily. Ruby did her best to calm her teammates.

"He had a lot to worry about with the festival; it's not his fault," Ruby said. She sounded as though she was trying to convince herself, but that wasn't the important part. They knew this guy, they had fought him. They had beaten him before… could he trust them to have his back if this Torchwick guy figured out it was Jaune who had been paid with his money? If Jaune was safe anywhere, it was at Beacon but…

For the second time in a few months, Jaune was stuck between a rock and hard place because of a lie he was on the verge of being caught in. Not for the first time since the events at "The Three Bears" earlier today, he wished he had never taken a job at the coffee shop.

Pyrrha noticed that Jaune was only halfheartedly poking at his breakfast and leaned over, asking what was wrong. For a moment, Jaune contemplated telling her everything. The information he had sold, the money used to pay for his service and how it belonged to Torchwick, how he had lied out of fear, even after promising never to do so again. He could say it all, and he'd be safe, or at least safer.

But he didn't. He kept his mouth shut, and years later he still wouldn't be able to explain why. Maybe it was fear. Maybe it was guilt. It didn't matter. The outcome was the same.

"Nothing, Pyrrha. Just thinking of how relieving it is to finally be able to stop worrying about my dues, is all." Pyrrha smiled at his arm.

"It is good that you're finally free of the debt. But you seem on edge. Are you sure you're alright?" Before she could answer, Jaune's watch alarm went off. He had work today – early shift, his job to go in and open up the shop since Junior was going to be late. He stood and took his tray, dropping it off and shooting a look back at Pyrrha still at the table. He gave a reassuring smile, as best he could muster, and kept walking.

When he got to the shop, the street bustled with its usual energy. A 'Closed' sign hung in the shop's window and as Jaune retrieved the keys from the light fixture and opened the door, he held back for a moment and took stock of his situation and how generally shitty it was at present.

Torchwick was angry. He thought Junior was the one behind his money disappearing, and he wasn't going to stop until he was reimbursed. Unfortunately, Junior was just as tight about holding onto his money as Torchwick was. Neither man was going to back down without a fight, and a fight between Torchwick and the Xiongs was not something Vale could afford right now. Jaune's lie was eating him up inside the same way his first one about working at "The Three Bears" had, except now it was worse because there was a very real chance that Jaune was in danger. Coco and her team were off the grid. Jaune hadn't heard anything in days, and while he knew that team CFVY could handle themselves, he still didn't like being out of the loop. Despite the seemingly short time they had been together, Jaune had come to love the older student. She was all the strength and sass that people knew her for, plus all the charm and sweetness they didn't.

It was then that he also came to recognize everything that he had. An awesome girlfriend who he never would have even imagined would care about someone like him. A team who stuck up for and looked out for them, even when he did a shitty job of returning the favor. Teachers who wanted to see him succeed, friends who helped him succeed, a steady job that he actually enjoyed, a family who loved and missed him and so much more. They say you never knew what you had until you lost it, and Jaune was the lucky one-in-a-million who beat that statistic.

Smiling for what it was worth, he strode into the shop with newfound determination. He could manage this. He had lasted this long, after all. He could wait a few more days, then quit the job – he could tell Junior that his studies were picking up and he couldn't juggle school and work anymore. The gangster wouldn't be happy, but Jaune would be free and more importantly, he'd be out of the line of fire when things came to a head between Junior and Torchwick.

His mind set on that course of action, he took a chair off a table and set it on the floor, proceeding to do so with several more chairs before he noticed the flashing light at the back of the café. A slow, steady red blip coming from inside Junior's office at the back of the shop. Strange.

His curiosity got the better of him, and he set the last chair down before walking to the back of the room. He pushed the slightly ajar door open slowly, and as he did he saw that the light came from the "missed call" button on Junior's old-fashioned phone receiver. Jaune chuckled slightly, wondering just how old Junior really was.

Then his aura flared, his foot clicked, and the world exploded.

* * *

When Jaune came to, he was surrounded by people he didn't recognize. Many of them spoke in distant voices, and he couldn't decipher the words. A few were looking down at him, examining him. He became aware that he was staring up into a blue expanse. _Strange,_ he thought. _I don't remember them painting the ceiling…_

Gradually, he came to get a better feeling for his surroundings. He was in pain. A lot of it. Every part of his body felt as though it had been thrown into a blender. The sky – for he knew it was the sky now and not the ceiling – was too bright and hurt his eyes. His ears were ringing and his lips and tongue were dry and swollen. He tried to sit up and a wave of nausea and pain hit him like a truck full of cement, before several pairs of hands simultaneously pushed him back down, muttering words that sounded soothing but still meant nothing. He felt a prick of pain in his arm and turned his head ever so slightly just in time to see a person sticking a needle into his arm. He barely had time to register that he hated needles before sleep took him once more.

* * *

The next time he woke up, everything was clearer. He was in his own bed, back at Beacon. The room was dark and no light came from the window, save the glimmer of the moon high in the sky. Across the room, Ren and Nora had pushed their bunks closer together, the pair sitting up with their backs against the wall as the petite ginger slept soundly on the shoulder of the quiet boy. Closer at hand, Pyrrha was lying on her back, facing the ceiling.

He thought she was asleep, but the moment he stirred she jolted, crying out in surprise. She immediately quieted herself as Nora snorted in her sleep before inching out of bed and across the floor to where Jaune lay, slowly rising. She grabbed a cup of water from the nightstand and forced him to take small sips as his head rang like a steeple full of church bells. "What—" he began to ask before Pyrrha shushed him. She helped him sit up and lean against the frame of the bed, groaning quietly. Pyrrha checked over her shoulder once more to make sure that Ren and Nora were still sleeping before sitting at the foot of Jaune's bed while he took a few more sips of water.

When the feeling of sandpaper in his throat had subsided, he looked at her quizzically and set the cup down. "What happened?" he asked quietly. Pyrrha's eyes flooded with sadness.

"You went to the coffee shop and someone had trapped it. There was an explosion… Jaune, you _stood on top of a tripmine._ What were you thinking?" Jaune was astonished, and all at once images of a click, a flash and a roar of thunder came back to him.

"I… I didn't do it on purpose. I saw… I saw a light in the back room and when I opened the door to see what it was… Pyrrha, are you saying somebody _bombed_ 'The Three Bears?'" She nodded morosely.

"You were the only one in the building and… Jaune, you don't know just how lucky you are. Your aura protected you from the blast. If it had been anyone else in that shop when the bomb went off… but how do you feel?" Jaune pondered the question, as though he hadn't thought of it before now. He reached out his hands and examined the lengths of his arms, looking for burns, scars, anything. He saw none and Pyrrha obviously took note of his searching. Reaching over and beneath her bunk she withdrew a silvered mirror she had once confided in Jaune was given to her by her grandmother. Jaune held it up before his face and noticed the only sign of the trauma he had endured. Running down from his right temple to the bridge of his nose was a long, sharp-edged scar, already white from time spent healing.

"Pyrrha…" he asked, touching the scar and feeling no pain from it. "How long ago was the shop bombed?" Pyrrha cringed for a moment and Jaune could see tears brimming in her eyes; pearls glimmering in the moonlight before pools of endless green.

"Jaune… it's been six weeks."

_No_, he thought. _There's no way…_ Instinctively, he began to stand before Pyrrha gently but forcefully pushed him back down. "Pyrrha," he said desperately. "I need—" She pushed him down again.

"You _need_ to rest. Lie back down for a moment…" She reached behind her and grabbed something as Jaune reluctantly did as she asked. She faced away from him for several moments before turning back, the cup of water in her hand. "Drink this," she said as she pushed the cup into his hands. He almost pushed her away before meekly accepting that even if he did, she'd knock him out and force it down his throat if she had to. As he drank down the thick liquid inside the cup, he nearly gagged at the nauseating sweetness of the stuff.

"God, Pyrrha, what the hell is this? It tastes like… why are the walls melting?"

Jaune's unconscious form hit his mattress with a dull thud and a quiet creaking of springs, and Pyrrha sighed as he began to snore softly within moments. What Jaune didn't realize was just how much had happened since he had been out. The bombing at "The Three Bears" was just the start of a rash of violent criminal attacks all over the city. More bombings, drive-bys, organized attacks… the city of Vale did little at first because all the crimes committed were aimed at other criminals; either those with connections to the Xiong family or those owned and run by a mysterious and as-of-yet unknown second faction – supposedly led by notorious criminal Roman Torchwick. What had sparked the war between the two was unknown, but Torchwick was being blamed for the bombing at "The Three Bears," and ever since then Torchwick and the Xiongs had been playing a dangerous game of tit-for-tat with high explosives all across Vale.

The attacks hadn't just been hurting criminals though. Besides Jaune, twenty-three civilians had been hospitalized by the violence, though mercifully none had died. The city projected the monetary loss in property value at over six million lien, and the city had put together a specialized task force of mixed city law enforcement and Huntsmen from Beacon. Everyone now agreed that the sooner the two criminal groups finished their little pissing contest, the better.

Jaune coughed quietly in his sleep and Pyrrha's hand moved slowly out, tracing the space just a few inches from his face and following the line of the scar that wound its way across his eye. Weeks unconscious showed on his face; a scraggly blonde beard followed the edge of his jaw and jumped upward through the gap between his nose and mouth before rejoining the line of facial hair. As her hand hung back, her eyes drifted to the numerous gift baskets piled on the floor next to his bed. A huge bundle of sweets, flowers and books from team RWBY sat next to a cluster of junk food and decidedly inappropriate magazines – the latter shipped all the way from Mistral by Sun and Neptune.

Even the teachers (meaning Ozpin) had chipped in. A defensive-combat manual sat in a more modest basket alongside a Beacon Academy coffee mug and a bag of Vacuan special dark roast. The centerpiece of the gifts though was a bag of additional coffee grounds, chocolates, pastries and hand-written letters from team CFVY and Coco in particular, the letters written by the team's leader while the group was on assignment. CFVY had returned to Beacon three days after the bombing, and only Professor Ozpin's insistence that members of a team could not spend the night in another team's dorm had sent her home each night after a day of quiet vigil at Jaune's side.

Pyrrha sighed. Things would start to move back to normal in the morning, once Jaune woke up, but she figured it would be a long time yet before things were back to the way they had been before. It wasn't just the physical damage; there was no telling what Jaune's outlook on things emotionally and psychologically would be from now on. He might never trust another living soul again; he might grow angry, or moody, or just introverted. His friendships would deteriorate - to say nothing of his relationship - and he'd be forced to endure the long, slow dive into social and emotional vacuum. Pyrrha prayed that such things would not come to pass; nobody deserved that. But it was a reality that was all-too close to real to ignore.

As Pyrrha returned to her own bunk though and settled down for the night, she found one persistent thought plaguing the back of her mind. Jaune had gone in to the shop early to open up the place and the bomb had gone off. But whoever had set the bomb, be it Torchwick or anyone else, would have known that it would have been Jaune in the shop early that morning. You didn't pull a stunt like a bombing without doing your homework; especially when you were a career criminal like Torchwick was. Collateral damage was bad for business, and the bomber wouldn't have hit the shop when they did unless they meant to. Which meant that not only was Jaune the casualty, he was the intended target.

Which begged the question: just what had Jaune Arc gotten himself into?

* * *

The next day, Jaune Arc relived his early childhood by learning how to walk again.

Turns out, being blown up and comatose for a month and a half may cause some loss of motor function. Who knew?

The response was overwhelming though. As he made his shaky way across campus, Coco never leaving his side, Jaune received no shortage of "get well soon" and "nice scar" call-outs from passers-by. Jaune even got an appreciative nod from Cardin, who admitted that getting blown up was something not a lot of people could claim. At least not with their own mouths. Jaune smiled weakly. Despite his faults, Cardin wasn't a bad guy. Just stupid - but hey, what was the guy who stepped on a landmine doing calling others stupid?

Jaune was excused from classes, but he stopped by Professor Ozpin's office during lunch to check in. The gray-haired headmaster seemed relieved to see Jaune up and about, and as Jaune sat in one of the surprisingly comfortable chairs in Ozpin's immense office, the two talked at great length about the events leading up to the explosion.

"I hope you know that I don't mean to put any undue pressure on you with these questions," Ozpin said as he stirred his coffee. "But I need to know the answers sooner or later." Jaune nodded.

"I understand, sir," he replied as he gazed down into his own beverage. He told Ozpin everything; from working at "The Three Bears," to not telling his team about it, to telling his team about it, to selling information on the side (making Ozpin the first person to know the secret to Jaune's success), to Torchwick and Junior's fight and finally to the day he went into the shop and set off the bomb. Through it all, the professor listened with muted interest, quietly hinging on every word as he occasionally sipped from his mug. Outside the wide windows of the tower, the grounds bustled and in the distance a few airships made their lazy way across the early-afternoon sky. Jaune had slept clear through semester break, and Spring was rapidly approaching. When he was finished with his tale, Ozpin sighed and set down his mug, the sound reverberating through the space.

"You _do_ understand that, while your intentions were pure, you have now broken school policy on several different occasions, yes? Students taking jobs outside of official work is the big one, but I also feel the need to note that you broke Vale law by selling information - a crime that, on the level you committed, can be considered a felony. Policy dictates that I give you two hours to pack your bags before I throw you out on the street, where you'd have the choice to turn yourself in or go on the run from the authorities. Everything is right here," he said, as he tapped his scroll. His gaze remained placid, but Jaune's electric-blue eyes clouded. He knew all this, of course. Fear had been coursing through his body all day as he anticipated this meeting. He had even prepared all his things, ready to go on a moment's notice. He had planned to turn himself in and receive an alleviated sentence however he could, but he'd still held out hope that Ozpin might show mercy. Now, it seemed that he was wrong.

Then, Ozpin smiled. "It is a terrible shame when technology fails us," he said casually, opening his scroll and flipping through a few pages. "Sometimes you just lose a few photographs or telephone numbers. Other times you lose evidence in substantial trials." He tapped a few more times and smiled with small satisfaction as a message flashed on his screen. "_Message Deleted._" He set the scroll down and stood, and Jaune did the same. The boy's mouth was agape as Ozpin moved around the table and put a hand on his shoulder. Jaune struggled to find words.

"Sir... Why...?" Ozpin cocked an eyebrow.

"Would you like me to recant my decision? The record stays archived for several hours after it's been deleted." Jaune's eyes widened.

"Nonononono! I mean, no sir, but... Why are you doing this? Why are you giving me a second chance?"

Ozpin smiled. "Jaune, if we persecuted every young man and young woman who made a mistake, the whole world would be imprisoned. It is those who fail to learn from their mistakes who we must be wary of. Learn from your mistakes and never repeat them, and this conversation will remain between us. Be wary though, young man. I will not be this generous if there is a next time, nor will anyone else. Now," he took his hand from Jaune's shoulder and returned to his place behind his desk. "Enjoy the rest of your time off. I expect you to return to your less-physically-strenuous first thing tomorrow."

* * *

Later that day, Jaune sat with Coco and watched the sunset from the same bench where they had sat two months before. The same bench where they had said their very-physical goodbye before the latter's mission. Coco told Jaune about the mission while he told her what he dreamed about. Stories of hordes of Grimm and Nora the Cloud Goddess were swapped as the two sat close together and watched the color of the sky shift from blue to orange to pink to red to a hundred thousand colors that Jaune couldn't even name before the sun finally disappeared beyond the horizon.

"So, what are you going to do now to pay for next year? Last I checked, your workplace is a pile of scorched brick and concrete in the middle of a city block." Jaune shrugged nonchalantly.

"I guess I've got enough free time now that I can spend the rest of the year training. By the time next year rolls around, I'll hopefully be ready to go out and do some freelance work." Coco shot him a bemused glance but nodded appreciatively.

"I like when you're confident. It suits that feisty new scar of yours." Jaune blushed and chuckled nervously as his fingers traced the pale thunderbolt that slashed his face. He figured he could come to appreciate the mark. It was a sign of what he had done and how he had survived it. It was a symbol of distinction. Plus, Pyrrha said it added character. He supposed that there weren't many better endorsements than that.

As Coco moved a little closer, Jaune wrapped his arm around her. He found himself remembering all that he had reflected on before he went into "The Three Bears" all those weeks ago. How lucky he was. He believed it, and he wasn't going to let anything compromise it. No more illegal schemes or hiding behind a veil of silence. Jaune had promised his team, his friends and Ozpin that he wasn't going to make any more mistakes. While they had all noted with some bemusement that everyone made mistakes, Jaune was adamant about his pledge. "An Arc never goes back on his word," he had quoted stoically. Jaune Arc was free. He may have been good at making coffee, but Jaune the Barista was only a precursory stage. Jaune the Huntsman was back now, and he had no intention of ever giving up that mantle again.

"So," Coco said, ending the age-long silence. "Suppose we'll have to find somewhere new to get coffee, huh?" Jaune smiled.

"Personally, I think I'm going to stay away from it for a while."

* * *

**AN – **And that was the last chapter. I know I said that I meant to have one more, but I think this is just how I wanted it to wrap up and I didn't want to ramble and draw out the ending. I hope it was satisfactory for you guys, and I'd like to thank you all one last time. This was my first real big Fanfiction project that started as a crazy idea off a Reddit thread and turned into an 8-chapter 24,000-word novella based on one of my favorite shows and dedicated to one of my favorite fanbases. This series has seen a lot happen in between, from the exciting milestone of /r/RWBY's 15,000th subscriber to the tragic passing of Monty Oum. We've been through a lot, and especially in relation to this last one my writing has really been my escape. I wouldn't have continued it if I hadn't seen that it was having an impact.

You guys are fantastic, and as a final parting gift, check out the Reddit link to this story for a little extra treat. Thank you all so much, one last time, and I hope that we may meet again in the future over many more stories.

_**~LegionOfMisfits**_


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